URBANA 


tA 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


3  3051  00000  0202 


STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 
DEPARTMENT  OF  REGISTRATION  AND  EDUCATION 

DIVISION  OF  THE 
STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

FRANK  W.  DEWOLF,  Chief 


BULLETIN  No.  40 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS  IN  1917  AND  1918 


Petroleum  in  Illinois  in    1917  and  1918 
By  N.  O.  Barrett 

Brown  County 
By  Merle   L.  Nebel 

Goodhope  and   La  Harpe  Quadrangles 
By  Merle  L.  Nebel 

Parts  of  Pike  and  Adams  Gounties 
By  Horace  Noble  Coryell 

Experiments  in  Water  Gontrol    in  the  Flat  Rock  Pool, 
Crawford  County 

By  Fred  H.  Tough,  Samuel  H.  Williston,  and  T.  E.  Savage 
In  Cooperation    with  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines 


PRINTED    BY    AUTHORITY    OK   THE    STATE    OK    ILLINOIS 


URBANA,   ILLINOIS 
19  19 


Schnepp  &  Barnes,  Printers 

Springfield,  III. 

1919. 

21856— 3M 


STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 
DEPARTMENT  OF  REGISTRATION  AND  EDUCATION 

DIVISION  OF  THE 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

FRANK  W.  DeWOLF,   Chief 

Committee  of  the  Board  of   Natural  Resources 
and  Conservation 


Feancis  W.  Shepabdson,  Chairman 

Director  of  Registration  and  Education 

Kendeic  C.  Babcock 

Representing  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois 


Rollin  D.  Salisbuby 
Geologist 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


State  Geological  Survey, 
Urbana,  June  26,  1919. 

Francis   W .  Shepardson,   Chairman,  and    Members    of    the    Board    of 
Natural  Resources  and  Conservation, 

Gentlemen  : 

I  submit  herewith  reports  on  oil  investigations  in  Illinois  in  1917 
and  1918,  and  recommend  their  publication  as  Bulletin  40. 

Although  oil  production  in  Illinois  continues  to  be  second  only  to 
that  of  coal,  the  fields  are  nevertheless  on  the  decline. 

The  situation  may  be  met  in  two  ways — discovery  of  new  fields 
and  improvement  of  methods  of  oil  extraction.  The  papers  on  Pike, 
Brown  and  Adams  counties  and  the  Goodhope  and  La  Harpe  quadrangles 
are  contributions  along  the  first  line,  pointing  out  areas  of  favorable 
structure  that  merit  testing  for  oil.  The  final  paper  describes  methods 
of  water  control  which  will  help  to  prolong  the  life  of  existing  fields 
and  at  the  same  time,  it  is  believed,  reduce  the  cost  of  extraction. 

The  discovery  of  new  fields  involves  considerable  uncertainty  and 
risk  of  capital,  as  it  is  impossible  to  predict  the  presence  of  oil  in  ad- 
vance; but  improvement  in  methods  of  well  procedure  can  be  confidently 
expected  to  react  to  the  benefit  of  operators,  and  therefore  attention 
to  such  problems  as  are  considered  in  the  water-control  report  is  strongly 
urged. 

Very    respectfully, 

Frank  W.  DeWolf,  Chief. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/oilinvestigation40illi 


GONTENTS 


PAGE 

Petroleum  in  Illinois  in  1917  and  1918,  by  N.  O.  Barrett,, 9 

Brown  County,  by  Merle  L.  Nebel .' 21 

Goodhope  and  La  Harpe  Quadrangles,  by  Merle  L.  Nebel .  51 

Parts  of  Pike  and  Adams  Counties,  by  Horace  Noble  Coryell 69 

Experiments  in  Water  Control  in  the  Flat  Rock  Pool,  Craw- 
ford County,  by  Fred  H.  Tough,  Samuel  H.  Williston,  and  T. 
E.  Savage 97 


MAP    OF" 

ILLINOIS 


Pig.  1.  Map  showing  areas  covered  by  the  reports. 


PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS   IN  1917  AND   1918 

By  N.   O.   Barrett 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

General  review 9 

Southeastern   Illinois 12 

Cumberland,  Coles,  Clark,  Jasper,  and  Edgar  counties. 12 

Crawford  County 14 

Lawrence   County 14 

Wabash  County 14 

South-central   Illinois 15 

Macoupin    County 15 

Clinton  County . 15 

Marion  County , ..........  15 

Western  Illinois ... 16 

Southern   Illinois , 16 

Northern    Illinois 17 

Miscellaneous   drilling •  •  • .- ., 17 

Summary  tables 18 

TABLES 

1.  Illinois  oil  production,  1905-1918 10 

2.  Fluctuation  in  prices  per  barrel  of  Illinois  petroleum,  1916,  1917,  and 

1918 11 

3.  Monthly  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois  in  1917 18 

4.  Monthly  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois  in  1918 19 

5.  County  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois  in  1917 19 

6.  County  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois  in  1918 20 

GENERAL  REVIEW 

In  spite  of  a  73  per  cent  reduction  in  1918  in  the  number  of  wells 
drilled  as  compared  with  the  number  for  1916,  production  declined 
only  24  per  cent.  Table  1  shows  the  annual  production  and  value  from 
1905  to  1918  inclusive  and  figure  18  presents  the  same  data  graphically 
for  the  State  as  a  whole  and  for  the  various  pools  individually. 

As  a  result  of  the  enormous  increase  in  Kansas'  production  in  1917 
as  well  as  the  actual  decline  that  same  year  in  Illinois  production,  the 
latter  fell  in  rank  from  fourth  to  fifth  among  oil-producing  states.     In 

(9) 


10 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


1918,  with  further  reduction  of  the  Illinois  total  and  a  considerable  in- 
crease in  Louisiana's  production,  the  State  fell  still  another  notch  lower 
so  far  as  quantity  was  concerned.  Evidence  of  the  excellence  of  Illi- 
nois oil  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  the  scale  of  producing  states,  Illinois 
ranked  fourth  and  fifth  in  value  of  production  during  1917  and  1918 
respectively,  at  the  same  time  that  it  ranked  fifth  and  sixth  in  quantity 
of  oil. 

The  years   1917   and   1918   were  characterized  by   record-breaking 
prices  as  a  result  of  war  conditions,  the  rise  continuing  without  inter- 


Table  1. — Illinois  oil  production,   1905-1918 


Year 


Barrels 


Value 


Previous 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918  (preliminary  estimate) 


6,576 
181,084 
379,050 
281,973 
686,238 
898,339 
143,262 
317,038 
601,308 
893,899 
919,749 
041,695 
714,235 
776,860 
365,974 


116,561 
3,274,818 
16,432,947 
22,649,561 
19,788,864 
19,669,383 
19,734,339 
24,332,605 
30,971,910 
25,426,179 
18,655,850 
29,237,168 
31,358,069 
31,230,000 


ruption  from  September  1,  1916  on  through  to  the  end  of  1918.  Changes 
of  prices  were  infrequent  during  the  latter  half  of  1917  and  all  of  1918, 
as  a  result  of  the  stabilizing  effect  of  the  Fuel  Administration  upon  both 
production  and  prices.  Table  2  gives  the  prices  per  barrel  of  the  two 
grades  of  Illinois  petroleum  for  the  years  1916,  1917,  and.  1918. 

In  1917  there  were  but  674  wells  completed  as  compared  with  1,469 
in  1916,  and  in  1918  there  were  only  410  completions.  This  great  de- 
crease obtained  in  spite  of  the  considerable  increase  in  price — a  factor 
that  usually  works  towards  increasing  activity — largely  because  drillers 
and  capital  were  attracted  to  the  newly  discovered  and  prolific  south- 
western fields,  and  partly  of  course  because  the  more  promising  unex- 
plored territory  in  Illinois  is  becoming  continually  smaller.  With  suc- 
cessful completion  of  the  war,  return  to  normal  conditions  is  presumed ; 
indeed,  the  number  of  wild  cat  tests  and  inside  wells  contemplated  for 
1919  is  indicative  of  a  general  resumption  of  activity. 


PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS  IN  1917  AND  1918 


11 


It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  for  the  month  of  February  1918,  less 
completed  work  was  done  in  the  Illinois  field  than  for  any  previous 
month  since   Hoblitzel   and   Son   started   development   work   on   Parker 

Table  2. — Fluctuation   in   prices   per   oarrel  of  Illinois   petroleum,   1916.   1917, 

and  1918  \ 


1916 

1917 

1918 

Date 

Illinois 

Plymouth 

Illinois 

Plymouth 

Illinois 

Plymouth 

January 

1 

$1.47 

$1.33 

January 

2 

$1.72 

$1.53 

January 

3 

1.57 

January 

4 

1.63 

January 

8 

1.82 

1.73 

January 

15 

1.83 

January 

21 

1.38 

January 

27 

1.62 

1.43 

January 

30 

1.87 

February 

9 

$2.22 

February 

16 

1.72 

March 

6 

1.53 

March 

13 

1.58 

March 

16 

1.82 

1.68 

March 

21 

$< 

2.3: 

March 

28 

.... 

2.32 

April 

16 

1.92 

July 

9 

.... 

2.42 

July 

28 

1.72 

1.58 

August 

1 

1.62 

1.48 

August 

3 

.... 

1.38 

August 

4 

1.52 

August 

14 

1.47 

1.18 

August 

16 

2.12 

2.03 

August 

17 

1.08 

August 

28 

1.03 

September 

27 

2.13 

November 

18 

1.52 

November 

30 

1.13 

December 

13 

1.57 

1.23 

December 

19 

1.62 

1.33 

December 

28 

1.43 

December 

29 

1.53 

Average 

1 

$1.64 

$1.38 

$1,975 

$1,934 

$2,334 

$2,287 

12  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

prairie  between  Casey  and  Westfield,  in  Clark  County  on  the  Young 
farm  back  in  1904.  The  severity  of  the  weather,  characteristic  of  the  win- 
ter of  1918,  was  the  immediate  cause  of  this  heavy  drop  in  work,  though 
the  general  decline  in  activity  was  also  partly  responsible. 

A  feature  of  the  industry  in  Illinois  destined  to  receive  an  increasing 
amount  of  attention  during  1919  is  the  development  and  adoption  of 
new  and  better  methods  of  oil  extraction  with  the  idea  of  prolonging 
the  life  of  existing  fields  as  well  as  reducing  production  costs.  The  final 
paper  of  this  bulletin  describing  the  use  of  mud  fluid  in  water-control 
work,  is  a  contribution  along  these  lines. 

In  1917,  of  the  674  wells  completed,  172  or  25.6  per  cent  were  dry, 
and  8  or  1.2  per  cent  were  gas  wells.  The  remaining  494  wells  (73.2  per 
cent)  reported  as  producers,  yielded  a  new  production  of  10,140  bar- 
rels, which  amounts  to  an  average  initial  production  of  20.6  barrels  per 
well. 

In  1918  there  were  410  wells  drilled,  of  which  120  or  29.4  per  cent 
were  dry,  and  14  or  3.4  per  cent  gas  producers.  The  remaining  276 
wells  (67.2  per  cent)  yielded  a  new  production  of  5,899  barrels,  which 
amounts  to  an  average  initial  production  of  21.1  barrels. 

The  number  of  wells  abandoned  is  gradually  increasing,  145  in  1916, 
202  in  1917,  and  214  in  1918  ;  but  these  totals  are  in  every  case  less  than 
the  totals  of  producers  brought  in  for  the  year  in  question,  which 
means  of  course  that  the  number  of  producing  wells  in  Illinois  is  still 
increasing  though  the  rate  of  increase  is  gradually  lowering. 

SOUTHEASTERN  ILLINOIS 
Cumberland,  Coles,  Clark,  Jasper,  and  Edgar  Counties 

In  the  shallow-sand  field  of  southeastern  Illinois  25.3  per  cent  or 
170  of  the  State's  total  of  674  completions  were  drilled  in  1917,  and  25.1 
per  cent  or  82  of  the  total  of  410  completions  were  drilled  in  1918. 
Clark  County  continued  to  be  by  far  the  most  active  part  of  this  field 
with  137  completions  and  a  new  production  averaging  10.5  barrels  in 
1917,  and  71  completions  averaging  7.9  barrels  in  1918.  A  few  large 
producers  were  brought  in,  the  largest  for  1917  being  Ohio  well  No. 
106  on  the  N.  and  K.  Young  farm  in  Parker  Township,  credited  with 
100  barrels  initial  production,  and  the  largest  for  1918  being  Ohio  well 
No.  1  on  the  C.  B.  Lee  farm  in  the  same  township,  yielding  60  barrels. 
The  Stock  Yards  Oil  Company  made  a  deep  test  in  Coles  County  on  the 
Wm.  H.  Berkley  farm,  which  was  probably  in  Trenton  at  a  depth  of 
2,400  feet  when  it  was  abandoned  as  dry.  It  is  believed  that  the  sand 
penetrated  in  this  well  at  a  depth  of  2,228  feet  may  be  the  equivalent  of 


PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS  IN  1917  AND  1918  13 

the  pay  sand  in  the  Ohio  Oil  Company's  well  No.  29  on  the  K.  and  E. 
Young  farm  a  few  miles  to  the  southeast. 

In  1918,  tests  near  Oakland  in  Coles  County  along  the  northwest 
extension  of  the  La  Salle  anticline  resulted  in  two  good  gas  wells.  The 
test  put  down  by  the  Women's  Federal  Oil  Company  in  sec.  30  of  East 
Oakland  Township  on  the  Sam  Daugherty  farm  in  April,  1918,  produced 
500,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  at  302  feet  and  another  on  the  Hawkins  farm, 
completed  in  June,  produced  700,000  cubic  feet  at  315  feet.  These  wells 
together  were  responsible  for  the  interest  aroused  and  still  exhibited 
over  oil  and  gas  possibilities  in  the  vicinity  of  Oakland.  Three  other 
wells,  all  dry,  were  drilled,  two  in  sec.  32  of  East  Oakland  Township, 
and  a  third  in  southeastern  Douglas  County. 

The  area  lies  a  short  distance  east  of  the  crest  of  the  La  Salle 
anticline,  and  therefore  bears  about  the  same  relation  to  that  structure 
as  do  the  oil  fields  of  Clark,  Crawford,  and  Lawrence  counties,  for  all 
along  the  anticline  the  dip  is  known  to  be  consistently  gentle  toward  the 
east.  It  is,  however,  not  this  major  structure,  but  rather  interruptions 
in  the  general  inclination  resulting  in  minor  structures  on  the  large  fold, 
which  have  controlled  oil  accumulation  in  the  southeastern  fields.  Ter- 
races and  small  or  local  anticlinal  structures  of  the  same  sort  doubtless 
exist  in  the  Oakland  area  as  well,  but  whereas  drilling  has  been  sufficient 
to  determine  the  small  but  all-important  structure  in  the  oil  fields,  drill 
records  about  Oakland  are  so  few  and  outcrops  so  rare  that  minor 
structures  are  still  almost  unknown.  The  problem  is  further  compli- 
cated by  the  fact  that  such  logs  as  are  available  indicate  considerable 
irregularity  in  stratigraphy  across  the  anticline  north  of  Clark  County. 
Indeed,  so  different  are  the  conditions  in  Clark  County  at  Westfield  from 
those  south  of  Oakland,  that  correctness  of  the  correlation  of  a  shallow 
sand  at  Westfield  with  one  at  Oakland  is  very  doubtful.  There  are  in- 
dications that  the  depth  of  the  heavy  Mississippian  limestone  (the  "Big 
Lime")  is  much  less  in  Clark  County  than  it  is  near  Oakland,  and  that 
there  may  be  sands  present  near  Oakland  not  found  in  Clark.  The  area 
should  be  drilled  without  regard  to  conditions  in  Clark  County,  and  the 
records  of  the  successive  wells  carefully  kept  in  order  to  determine  the 
actual  sequence  of  strata.  A  thorough  drilling  of  one  of  the  persistent 
coal  beds  that  underlies  this  region  and  is  apparently  of  workable  thick- 
ness, might  probably  be  a  venture  worth  the  effort  in  itself,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  would  reveal  the  structure  in  detail  and  indicate  where 
deeper  drillings  for  oil  should  most  properly  be  located.  Without  some 
such  preliminary  investigation,  prospecting  in  Coles  and  Douglas  conn- 
ties  must  remain  essentially  a  "wildcat"  proposition. 


14  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Crawford  County 

The  number  of  wells  drilled  fell  from  276  in  1917  to  201  in  1918 
and  the  number  of  producers  from  205  to  139,  the  average  new  pro- 
duction per  well  being  8.9  and  8.1  barrels  respectively.  A  165-barrel 
well  in  Robinson  Township  on  the  Ferriman  farm  in  1917  and  two  100- 
barrel  wells  on  the  Curtis  and  Turner  farm  in  Licking  Township  in  1918 
were  the  big  producers  of  the  two  years.  A  number  of  50  and  75-barrel 
wells  were  drilled  during  the  same  period  but  the  majority  gave  yields 
considerably  smaller. 

The  activity  evinced  in  Honey  Creek  Township  in  1916  continued 
on  into  1917  and  1918,  although  in  some  months  Licking  and  Robinson 
townships  surpassed  Honey  Creek  in  number  of  completions. 

Lawrence  County 

As  in  the  other  counties  of  the  southeastern  Illinois  field,  new  wells 
were  comparatively  few,  133  wells  in  1917  and  but  71  in  1918,  although 
246  wells  was  the  total  for  1916.  The  greatest  activity  was  in  Dennison 
Township  from  which  two  200-barrel  wells  and  a  number  of  others  al- 
most as  large  were  reported  during  1917  and  1918.  The  Kirkwood  and 
Tracy  sands,  at  a  depth  of  1,800  feet  more  or  less,  gave  these  large 
yields. 

Wabash  County 

The  best  of  a  number  of  good  producers  brought  in  during  1917 
and  1918  in  the  Allendale  pool  were  three  100-barrel  wells  on  the 
Courter  lease.  The  total  number  of  completions  fell  from  28  in  1917 
to  18  in  1918  and  the  number  of  producers  from  12  to  5,  respectively. 
The  average  initial  production  per  well  for  the  county  was  37.1  barrels 
in  1917  and  12.3  barrels  in  1918. 

Excitement  over  the  possibility  of  the  discovery  of  a  pool  in  Friends- 
ville  Township  began  with  the  successful  completion  in  October,  1917, 
of  the  Midland  Oil  and  Gas  Company's  well  on  the  Toney  farm  with  an 
initial  production  of  40  barrels.  The  second  well  on  the  Toney  farm 
was  completed,  dry,  at  1,650  feet  in  January  and  by  the  following  May 
a  third  well  on  the  Toney  farm  and  five  others  on  the  Price,  McNair, 
Couch,  Anderson,  and  Matheny  farms  had  been  reported  as  dry.  A 
test  on  the  Putnam  farm  in  September  of  1918  resulted  in  another  dry 
well  to  be  added  to  the  list.  Further  testing  will  probably  be  very  slow 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  so  large  a  number  of  holes  were  dry  in  the  near 
vicinity  of  the  producer. 


PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS  IN  1917  AND  1918  15 

SOUTH-CENTRAL  ILLINOIS 
Macoupin  County 

Only  three  wells  were  drilled  during  the  past  two  years  in  Macou- 
pin County,  two  of  them  in  1917  and  the  other  in  1918.  The  1918  hole 
and  one  of  the  1917  wells  were  drilled  on  the  flank  of  the  Staunton  dome 
but  were  unsuccessful.  The  Loveland  test  drilled  in  Brushy  Mound 
Township,  well  up  on  the  southern  swell  of  the  Spanish  Needle  Creek 
dome,1  was  completed,  dry,  at  537  feet  in  February,  1917,  and  seems  to 
indicate  that  oil  will  probably  not  be  found  at  such  depths  in  the 
structure,  though  the  possibility  of  oil  from  deeper  sands  is  not  con- 
demned. 

The  Staunton  gas  was  substituted  for  artificial  gas  at  Belleville, 
Edwardsville,  Collinsville,  Marysville,  and  Staunton  late  in  1916,  and 
its  use  continued  through  1917  and  well  into  1918,  but  the  field  began 
to  show  signs  of  early  and  rapid  exhaustion  in  the  latter  part  of  1918, 
necessitating  return  to  artificial  gas  in  some  of  these  towns. 

Whether  or  not  production  can  be  revived  sufficiently  to  take  care 
of  all  or  even  a  part  of  the  area  once  supplied  from  this  field  is  a  doubt- 
ful question,  the  answer  depending  on  whether  the  rapid  decrease  in 
pressure  and  flow  experienced  recently  is  due  to  actual  exhaustion  of  the 
gas  or  to  the  ill  effects  of  water  caused  by  indifferent  well  procedure. 

Clinton  County 

In  1917,  of  the  10  holes  drilled,  only  one,  that  of  the  Ohio  Oil  Com- 
pany on  the  Niemeyer  farm,  was  successful,  10  barrels  being  reported 
as  the  initial  production  at  941  feet.  The  dry  holes  were  distributed  as 
follows :  three  in  Irishtown  Township  and  one  each  in  Clement,  Breese, 
Meridian,  Lake,  and  Carrigan  townships.  In  1918,  of  the  9  holes  drilled, 
four  were  producers.  Three  of  these  were  inside  wells,  two  of  them 
having  an  initial  yield  of  15  barrels,  and  one  of  3  barrels.  The  Shaffer 
well  in  Irishtown  Township,  an  outside  location,  gave  2  barrels  as  its 
initial  yield.  The  Rogan  test  also  in  Irishtown  Township  resulted  in  a 
small  production  of  gas  at  1,149  feet. 

Marion  County 

Marion  County's  record  for  1917  and  1918  is  extremely  poor,  with 
one  gas  well  and  no  oil  as  the  outcome  of  eight  tests  in  the  two  years. 

1  Lee,  Wallace,  Oil  and  Gas  in  the  Gillespie  and  Mt.  Olive  quadrangles,  Illinois: 
111.  State  Geol.   Survey  Bull.   31,   p.   102,   1915. 


16  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Six  tests  were  in  the  Centralia-Sandoval  area,  and  two  to  the  northeast 
in  wildcat  territory  at  Alma  and  at  Kinmundy.  The  latter  well  was 
abandoned  at  1,918  feet  with  no  showing  of  oil  or  sand,  although  the 
depth  seems  sufficient  to  have  reached  the  Stein  and  Benoist  sands 
which  produce  oil  at  Sandoval. 

WESTERN  ILLINOIS 

The  statement  made  for  1916  may  be  pertinently  repeated  for  1917 
and  1918,  so  far  as  new  developments  are  concerned.  The  results  of 
wildcat  drilling  in  western  Illinois  served  to  emphasize  further  the 
"spotty"  character  of  the  Hoing  oil  sand.  It  is  certain  that  favorable 
geological  structure  exists  outside  the  Colmar-Plymouth  fields  but  the 
prevailing  absence  of  the  sand  is  a  discouraging  feature. 

One  10-barrel  well  on  the  MacAllister  lease  and  a  number  of  5- 
barrel  and  smaller  wells  were  completed  in  the  Plymouth-Colmar  area. 
Out  of  a  total  of  22  wells  drilled  there,  but  5  were  dry  and  the  average 
initial  production  was  approximately  3  barrels  per  well  in  1917.  Activ- 
ity in  1918  was  notably  decreased.  No  wells  were  reported  for  Han- 
cock County,  and  but  eleven  for  McDonough.  None  was  dry,  however, 
and  an  average  initial  production  of  5.7  barrels  is  credited  to  this  group. 

One  dry  hole  in  Schuyler  County  was  the  only  outside  test  of  which 
the  Survey  has  record  in  western  Illinois  during  the  two  years.  It  was 
drilled  to  a  depth  of  465  feet  and  abandoned. 

The  Pike  County  field  received  attention  during  1917.  This  shallow- 
gas  field,  discovered  in  1886  but  not  developed  to  any  extent  until  1905, 
has  just  been  investigated  by  the  Survey  largely  in  response  to  demand 
of  the  residents  of  the  area.  The  interest  was  roused  by  the  decrease 
in  pressure  which  has  become  gradually  more  apparent  in  the  past  few 
years,  as  well  as  by  the  possibility  of  finding  oil  in  commercial  quanti- 
ties, and  a  report  on  the  area  is  included  as  a  part  of  this  bulletin. 

Of  the  four  1917  wells,  three  were  drilled  for  oil.  The  Ohio  Oil 
Company  made  two  tests  in  New  Salem  Township,  one  dry  at  616  feet 
and  the  other  giving  a  show  of  oil  at  619.  Claud  Shinn  drilled  a  634- 
foot  well  in  Perry  Township  that  showed  oil  at  650  feet. 

SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS 

Dry  holes  were  drilled  in  southern  Illinois  as  follows  during  1917 
and  1918:  NE.  Y\  SW.  Y\  sec.  35,  Elvira  Township,  Johnson  County, 
depth  2,000  feet;  sec.  12,  Raleigh  Township,  Saline  County;  sec  28, 
Eldorado  Township,  Saline  County,  depth  1,950  feet;  and  sec.  32,  Omaha 
Township,  Gallatin  County.     Drilling  on  the  Campbell  Hill  anticline  nc:w 


PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS  IN  1917  AND  1918  17 

Ava  in  Jackson  County1  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  additional  gas  wells 
but  as  yet  there  has  been  no  commercial  utilization  of  the  product. 

NORTHERN  ILLINOIS 

No  tests  have  been  made  as  yet  in  response  to  the  discovery  of  a 
seep  of  oil  and  gas  along  a  small  fault  plane  near  Coal  City,  described 
in  a  previous  bulletin.2 

In  McLean  County  two  dry  holes  were  put  down,  one  at  Downs 
and  the  other  at  Le  Roy.  Whether  or  not  these  holes  should  be  con- 
sidered as  condemning  the  structure  locally  is  doubtful,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  location  of  the  axis  of  the  La  Salle  anticline  in  this  area  is 
not  known  definitely.  That  it  passes  northwest  in  the  general  vicinity 
of  McLean  County,  seems  clear,  but  drilling  has  been  so  meager  and 
scattered  that  determination  of  the  axis  exactly  has  been  impossible. 

MISCELLANEOUS  DRILLING 

One  test  credited  with  an  initial  production  of  two  barrels  and  not 
mentioned  above  was  drilled  in  Madison  County  in  1917  on  the  Keller 
farm,  in  sec.  8  of  Collinsville  Township.  Other  holes  not  already  noted, 
all  of  them  dry,  were  drilled  as  follows  during  1917  and  1918 : 

1917 

County  Township  Section 

Bond La  Grange 21 

La  Grange 28 

Burgess 34 

Edwards Shelby 35 

Fayette Lone   Grove 12 

Madison Saline 27 

Omphghent 13 

Collinsville 8 

Helvetia 12 

Hamel 10 

Hamel 15 

Morgan Waverly 22 

Perry T.  5S..R.1W 4 

Randolph Sparta   (?) 

Washington Irvington,    2    holes 26 


*St.  Clair,  Stuart,  The  Ava  area:  111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  35,  pp.  57-65,  1917. 
2  Kay,  F.  H.,  Petroleum  in  Illinois  in   1916:   111.   State  Geol.    Survey  Bull.    35,  pp. 
16-17,   1917. 


18 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 
1918 


County  Township 

Cumberland , . . .  Crooked  Creek 

Douglas Sargent 

Madison Olive 

Olive. 

Washington Irvington 


County 

36 

35 

9 

15 

26 


SUMMARY  TABLES 

The  following  tables  summarize  oil  development  in  Illinois  during 
1917  and  1918.  Tables  3  and  4  are  compiled  directly  from  the  Oil  City 
Derrick.  Tables  5  and  6  are  compiled  from  the  same  source  with  addi- 
tions by  the  author,  which  accounts  for  the  difference  in  total.  It  was 
impossible  to  include  additions  in  Tables  3  and  4  because  in  most  cases 
the  month  of  completion  was  not  known,  while  for  Tables  5  and  6  this 
information  was  not  necessary. 

The  total  number  of  wells  drilled  to  January  1,  1918,  was  25,997 
of  which  4,825,  or  18.6  per  cent,  were  dry.  Similar  statistics  for  Janu- 
ary 1,  1919,  are  26,407  wells,  4,945  of  which,  or  18.9  per  cent,  were  dry. 


Table  3. — Monthly  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois,  1917 


Month 

Completed 

New 
production 

Dry 
holes 

Averag-e 

initial 

production 

Abandoned 
wells 

Gas 
wells 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

66 
46 
40 

55 
64 
61 
73 

72 
47 
48 
41 
36 

1,165 

790 

384 

694 

1,020 

1,161 

861 

1,437 

1,091 

672 

509 

354 

14 
17 
13 
13 
13 
10 
23 
15 
9 
8 
10 
11 

22.3 
27.3 
14.2 
16.9 
20.8 
23.0 
16.0 
24.5 
30.3 
17.2 
16.4 
15.9 

11 
12 
14 
15 
9 
12 
20 
15 
26 
22 
33 
13 

1 

2 
2 

June 

July 

1 

August 

September.  .  . . 

October 

November 

December 

2 
1 

Total 

1916 

649 
1,459 

10,138 
24,713 

156 
317 

20.9 
22.3 

202 
145 

9 
36 

PETROLEUM  IN  ILLINOIS  IN  1917  AND  1918 
Table  4. — Monthly  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois,  1918 


19 


Month 


Completed 


New 
production 


Dry 

holes 


Average 

initial 

production 


Abandoned 

wells 


Gas 

wells 


January. . 
February. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October. . . 
November 
December. 

Total... 
1917 


13 

248 

4 

27.6 

21 

1 

5 

11 

1 

3.7 

2 

1 

27 

308 

9 

17.2 

1 

38 

378 

12 

14.5 

22 

1 

30 

454 

8 

23.7 

10 

3 

41 

470 

9 

14.7 

20 

46 

978 

13 

30.6 

31 

1 

49 

676 

17 

19.2 

30 

38 

950 

11 

35.2 

26 

1 

25 

369 

5 

19.5 

18 

, . 

42 

498 

13 

11.8 

7 

1 

42 

559 

11 

13.3 

26 

396 

5,899 

113 

19.3 

214 

9 

649 

10,138 

156 

20.9 

202 

9 

Table  5. — County   record   of  wells   drilled  in   Illinois,   1911 


County 


Completed 


New 
production 


Dry 
holes 


Abandoned 
wells 


Gas 
wells 


Bonda 

Clark: 

Clinton 

Coles 

Crawford 

Cumberland 

Edgar 

Edwards* 

Fayettea 

Hancock 

Jackson8 

Jasper 

Johnson" 

Lawrence 

McDonough 

McLean8 

Macoupin8 

Madison8 

Marion 

Montgomery8 . . . 


3 

137 

9 

1 

276 

26 

6 

1 

1 

4 

2 

1 
133 
18 
2 
2 
7 
6 
1 


1,439 
10 

3,103 

148 
40 


15 


4,297 
46 


3 
21 
8 
1 
71 
1 
5 
1 
1 
1 
2 

1 
19 
4 
2 
2 
6 
5 
1 


22 
6 

63 


93 

1 


11 


20  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Table  5. — County  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois,  1911 — Concluded 


County 

Completed 

New 
production 

Dry 

holes 

Abandonee 
wells 

[           Gas 
wells 

Morgana 

1 

2 
4 
1 

2 
28 

1 

5 

Perry 

Pikea 

1,040 

2 
2 
1 
2 
16 

Randolph3 

Saline 

Wabash 

Total 

674 

10,140 

179 

202 

9 

Added  by  author. 

Table  6.— Comity  record  of  wells  drilled  in  Illinois,  1918 


County 


Completed 

New 
production 

Dry 
holes 

Abandoned 
wells 

Gas 
wells 

71 

560 

11 

15 

9 

35 

5 

3 

1 

5 

4 

1 

201 

2,482 

62 

96 

6 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

6 

10 

4- 

6 

3 

5 

1 

71 

2,601 

13 

98 

11 

63 

1 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

18 

146 

13 

2 

2 

2 

•• 

410 

5,899 

121 

214 

14 

Clark 

Clinton 

Coles 

Crawford . . . 
Cumberland , 
Douglasa 

Edgar 

Jacksona. . . . 

Jasper 

Lawrence . . . 
McDonough. 
Macoupina .  . 
Madisona. . . 

Marion 

Wabash .... 
Washington . 

Total 


Added  by  author. 


BROWN  COUNTY 

By  Merle  L.  Nebel 


OUTLINE 


PAGE 

Introduction 22 

Acknowledgments 22 

Method    of   field   work 23 

Personnel    of    party 23 

Key  horizons 23 

Physiography 24 

Stratigraphy 25 

General  statement 25 

Unconsolidated  rocks 25 

Alluvium , 25 

Loess 25 

Glacial  drift 26 

Consolidated   rocks 27 

General    description 27 

Rocks  outcropping  in  the  region 28 

Carbondale  formation 28 

Pottsville  formation 30 

St.  Louis  limestone 31 

Salem  limestone 32 

Warsaw    formation 36 

Keokuk    formation 37 

Rocks  known  only  from  drill  records 38 

Burlington  limestone 38 

Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian  shales 38 

Devonian  limestone 38 

Niagaran  dolomite 39 

Ordovician   rocks 39 

Possible  oil-producing  horizons 40 

Structure 41 

General    statement 41 

Relation  of  structure  to  accumulation  of  oil 43 

Detailed   structure 44 

Localities  previously  tested 46 

Recommendations 49 

(21) 


22  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  PAGE 

I.     Map    of   Brown    Gounty,.  showing    structural    contours    based    on 

the  elevation  of  No.  2  coal  above  sea  level 46 

FIGURE 

2.  Entrenched  meanders. .'. 25 

3.  Large  mass  of  Pennsylvanian  shale  and  coal  imbedded  in  glacial 

drift 27 

4.  Nodular  limestone 30 

5.  Bluff  of  Carbondale  and  Pottsville 31 

6.  Cross-bedding  in  Salem  limestone 32 

7.  Peculiar  weathering  of  argillaceous  Salem  limestone 33 

8.  Massive  brown  dolomite  ( Salem ) 34 

9.  Contact  of  Salem  dolomite  and  Warsaw  shale 35 

10.  Brown  dolomite  grading  laterally  into   shale 35 

11.  Local    unconformity   between    Salem    and   Warsaw 36 

12.  Unconformity  between  Salem  and  Warsaw 37 

13.  Diagram,    to    scale,    of    unconformity,    the    left   half    of   which    is 

photographed  in  figure  12 38 

14.  Diagrams  showing  conditions  governing  oil  accumulation 42 


INTRODUCTION 

The  purpose  of  this  report  is  to  present  the  results  of  a  survey  of 
Brown  County  made  during  the  fall  of  1917.  It  attempts  to  describe 
briefly  the  general  geology  of  the  region,  but  the  principal  object  is  to 
point  out  the  rock  structure  and  its  relation  to  possible  accumulations 
of  oil  or  gas.    Figure  1  shows  the  area  covered  by  the  report. 

Acknowledgments 

Professors  T.  E.  Savage  and  Stuart  Weller  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey staff  were  freely  consulted  in  connection  with  the  correlation  of  the 
Salem  and  St.  Louis  formations,  and  their  assistance  is  gratefully  ac- 
knowledged. Professor  Savage  in  addition  gave  valuable  assistance  in 
reading  the  manuscript. 

The  work  was  begun  under  the  direction  of  J.  L.  Rich,  who  made  a 
preliminary  study  of  the  region  and  selected  certain  key  horizons  which 
could  be  readily  identified  and  used  as  a  basis  for  determining  the 
structure.  His  work  covered  approximately  the  northern  half  of  the 
county,  except  for  a  small  area  worked  out  by  Morse  and  Rich  in  1914.1 
The  southern  half  of  the  county  was  worked  by  the  author. 


1  Morse,    W.    C,    and   Kay,    F.    H.,    Area   south    of    the    Colmar    oil    field:    Illinois 
Stale   Geol.    Survey  Bull.   31,   p.    10,   1915. 


BROWN  COUNTY  23 

Method  of  field  work 

It  is  known  that  practically  all  folding  in  the  area  under  consid- 
eration took  place  after  the  deposition  of  the  youngest  of  the  consoli- 
dated rocks,  and  therefore  structural  deformations  of  the  oil  sands  are 
reflected  in  the  hard  rocks  appearing  at  the  surface.  The  method  of  work 
was  based,  then,  upon  the  fact  that  the  rock  layers  at  some  depth,  in- 
cluding all  oil-bearing  horizons,  lie  essentially  parallel  to  those  outcropping 
at  the  surface.  Definite  beds  that  could  be  easily  recognized  by  the 
geologist  were  selected  as  key  horizons,  and  the  structure  determined 
by  running  instrumental  levels  to  each  bed. 

The  field  party  was  composed  of  a  geologist  in  charge,  a  transitman, 
and  two  rodmen.  The  geologist  identified  the  key  horizons,  such  as  coal 
beds  or  limestones,  and  measured  the  intervals  between  them.  He  se- 
lected numerous  points,  spaced  as  uniformly  as  possible,  where  the  key 
rocks  were  exposed  and  at  which  elevations  were  later  obtained  by  the 
transit  party  under  his  direction.  An  early  method  of  marking  these 
points  so  that  they  could  be  recognized  by  the  transit  party  was  to  place 
upon  them  flags  consisting  of  cheesecloth  squares  on  a  lath  staff.  Each 
point  was  located  on  the  map  by  the  pacing  and  compass  method,  and  a 
copy  of  the  map  furnished  to  the  transitman.  So  much  difficulty  was 
encountered  in  finding  these  flags  in  wooded  areas  that  another  method 
was  devised.  Instead  of  placing  a  flag  the  geologist  carried  a  hand- 
level  line  to  some  prominent  object  a  few  paces  away,  such  as  a  large 
blazed  tree,  a  gate  post,  etc.,  and  carefully  described  it  in  his  notes.  This 
object  was  numbered  with  crayon  or  paint  and  the  transit  party  fur- 
nished with  a  copy  of  the  description  as  well  as  a  copy  of  the  map 
showing  locations  of  all  points.  With  this  method  the  geologist  was 
enabled  to  keep  his  work  several  weeks  in  advance  of  the  leveling. 

Personnel  of  Party 

The  party,  in  addition  to  Messrs.  Rich  and  Nebel,  included  at  dif- 
ferent times  R.  Pinheiro,  D.  D.  Sparks,  A.  H.  Thurston,  Paul  Birming- 
ham, George  Burgesser,  and  William  Calvo. 

Key  Horizons 

The  principal  key  horizon  used  in  determining  the  structure  is  a 
thin  coal  bed  known  as  No.  2  (Colchester)  of  the  Illinois  section.  It 
outcrops  at  numerous  points  throughout  western  Illinois,  is  uniform  in 
thickness,  and  is  easily  identified.  In  areas  where  this  coal  does  not  out- 
crop other  rocks  either  below  or  above  it  were  used  as  key  horizons,  and 
the  intervals  between  these  rocks  and  the  coal  were  measured  as  fre- 


24  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

quently  as  possible.    The  horizons  used  and  the  distance  between  each  one 
and  No.  2  coal  are  as  follows : 

8.  Base  of  third  nodular  limestone  125  feet  above  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

7.  Base  of  Chonetes  limestone,  112  feet  above  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

6.  Base  of  second  nodular  limestone  98  to  102  feet  above  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

5.  Base  of  shaly,  fossiliferous  limestone,  20  to  41  feet  above  top  of  No.  2 
coal. 

4.  Top  of  No.  2  coal. 

3.  Base  of  first  nodular  limestone,  9  to  17  feet  below  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

2.  Top  of  Salem  limestone  24  to  50  feet  below  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

1.  Base  of  Salem  limestone  50  to  70  feet  below  top  of  No.  2  coal. 

As  soon  as  the  elevation  of  any  key  horizon  was  determined,  the 
hypothetical  elevation  of  No.  2  coal  at  that  place  was  computed  by  adding 
or  subtracting  the  interval  between  the  two  as  measured  in  the  nearest 
exposure. 

The  top  of  the  Salem  limestone  is  second  in  importance  to  the  top 
of  No.  2  coal  as  a  key  horizon,  and  was  used  frequently  in  the  south- 
eastern portion  of  Brown  County.  The  interval  between  the  two  is  var- 
iable, but  by  measuring  it  frequently  and  using  the  nearest  measurement 
to  a  given  exposure  in  computing  the  hypothetical  elevation  of  the  coal, 
results  were  obtained  which  are  believed  to  be  reliable. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY 

Brown  County  lies  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  divide  between  the 
Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers.  The  surface  of  the  central  and  west 
central  portions  of  the  county  is  a  flat,  undissected  prairie  sloping  gently 
to  the  east.  The  northern  portion  is  drained  by  Crooked  Creek  and  its 
tributaries,  the  eastern  quarter  by  small  creeks  flowing  directly  into  Illi- 
nois River,  and  the  southern  third  by  McGees  Creek,  which  flows  from 
east  to  west  across  the  county  and  empties  into  the  Illinois  a  few  miles 
below  Perry  Springs.  Timewell  is  756  feet  above  mean  sea  level,  and 
at  the  Mount  Sterling  water  tower  the  altitude  falls  to  735.  At  Hers- 
man  it  is  695,  at  Gilbirds  it  is  662,  and  at  Versailles,  588.  The  flood 
plain  of  Illinois  River  lies  at  an  elevation  of  about  440  feet  above  mean 
sea  level,  that  of  Crooked  Creek  at  about  440  to  450,  and  that  of  Mc- 
Gees Creek  at  450  south  of  Versailles  to  550  south  of  Siloam.  There 
is  a  maximum  relief  of  300  feet,  and  the  county  as  a  whole  is  hilly  and 
rough  except  in  the  central  and  western  portions.  The  valley  sides  are 
usually  steep  and  the  flood  plains  narrow.  An  interesting  example  of  en- 
trenched meanders  (fig.  2)  was  noted  in  the  SE.  %  sec.  18,  T.  2  S., 
R.  3  W.,  near  the  head  of  a  small  intermittent  stream  which  flows 
southeast  into  McGees  Creek. 


BROWN  COUNTY 


25 


STRATIGRAPHY 

General  Statement 
The  hard  rocks  of  the  region  are  almost  everywhere  covered  by  a 
mantle  of  unconsolidated  clay,  sand,  and  gravel.  These  unconsolidated 
rocks  consist  of  material  deposited  in  the  valleys  by  the  present  streams, 
and  called  alluvium,  of  fine  material  deposited  by  the  wind,  and  called 
loess,  and  of  material  deposited  by  the  continental  glaciers,  known  as 
drift.     The  hard  rocks  are  ordinary  shales,  sandstones,  and  limestones. 

Unconsolidated  Rocks 
alluvium 
The  alluvium  deposited  by  the  streams  consists  of  fine  sand,  gravel, 
and  clay  which  has  been  washed  away  from  the  hills  and  carried  into 


Fig.  2.  Entrenched  meanders.     The  curved  cliff  in  the  center  of  the  photograph 
is  of  Salem  limestone  and  is  about  20  feet  high. 

the  valleys  of  such  streams  as  McGees  and  Crooked  creeks  and  Illinois 
River.  Its  greatest  thickness  is  reached  in  the  valleys  of  Crooked  Creek 
and  Illinois  River.  A  deep  well  drilled  near  Crooked  Creek  passed 
through  210  feet  of  alluvium  before  reaching  bed  rock. 

LOESS 

The  loess  is  a  fine,  yellow,  wind-blown  dust  which  covers  the  up- 
lands to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  It  is  usually  thicker  along  the  bluffs 
overlooking  the  valleys  and  thinner  back  on  the  uplands.  Along  the 
bluffs  of  Illinois  River  it  is  in  places  as  much  as  100  feet  thick,  but  over 


26  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

most  of  the  county  is  only  a  few  feet  thick.  Because  of  this  peculiar 
distribution,  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  fine-grained  material  which 
forms  the  loess  has  been  picked  up  from  the  flood  plains  of  the  larger  val- 
leys and  spread  over  the  adjacent  territory  by  the  wind.  A  prominent  char- 
acteristic of  loess  is  its  tendency  to  stand  in  vertical  cliffs  where  ex- 
posed by  stream  erosion, 

GLACIAL  DRIFT 

The  glacial  drift  underlies  the  loess,  and  overlies  and  conceals  the 
bed  rock  throughout  the  region  except  where  it  has  been  cut  through  by 
the  streams.  It  consists  of  a  blue  or  yellow  boulder  clay  (Illinoian  till) 
with  occasional  layers  or  beds  of  sand  or  gravel.  The  clay  contains  num- 
erous boulders  or  pebbles  of  many  different  kinds  of  rock,  usually  of 
the  harder  varieties,  such  as  granite,  diabase,  quartzite,  limestone,  etc., 
which  have  been  carried  great  distances  by  the  glacier  and  deposited  with 
an  unsorted  mass  of  sand  and  clay.  Soft  rocks,  such  as  shale,  have  been 
ground  up  for  the  most  part  into  a  fine  clay,  but  occasionally  a  mass  of 
shale  like  that  underlying  the  glacial  drift  over  much  of  the  county  was 
picked  up  and  moved  a  short  distance  by  the  ice  without  being  greatly 
broken  up.  Such  a  mass  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  photograph 
(fig.  3).  It  is  about  30  feet  long  by  15  feet  thick  and  consists  of  ordi- 
nary gray  and  blue  shale  with  nearly  a  foot  of  coal  at  the  base.  It  is 
tilted  at  an  angle  of  about  30°  but  remains  unbroken,  although  it  is  com- 
pletely imbedded  in  yellow  till  which  is  well  exposed  above  and  below 
and  on  either  side.  This  mass  of  shale  and  coal  lies  below  the  level  of 
the  top  of  the  Salem  limestone,  which  is  stratigraphically  25  feet  or 
more  below  the  level  of  any  coal-bearing  strata  at  this  locality. 

The  thickness  of  the  drift  averages  about  30  to  40  feet  over  the 
county  as  a  whole.  The  greatest  thickness  is  over  preglacial  lowlands  and 
the  maximum  noted  is  120  feet. 

Consolidated  Rocks 

general  description 
The  known  consolidated  rocks  underlying  this  area  include  all  those 
formations  from  the  lower  part  of  the  "Coal  Measures"  down  to  the  St. 
Peter  sandstone.  Only  Pennsylvanian  and  Mississippian  rocks  outcrop 
in  the  county,  and  include  the  Carbondale  and  Pottsville  formations  of 
the  Pennsylvanian  system,  and  the  St.  Louis,  Salem,  Warsaw,  and  Keo- 
kuk formations  of  the  Mississippian  system.  The  rocks  lying  below  the 
Keokuk  are  known  only  from  the  records  of  wells  which  have  been 
drilled  through  them.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  rocks  below  the  St.  Peter 
sandstone,  for  no  wells  have  been  drilled  through  it  in  this  region. 


BROWN  COUNTY  27 

Pennsylvanian  rocks  belonging  to  the  Carbondale  and  Pottsville 
formations  underlie  the  drift  over  about  three-fourths  of  the  county, 
but  in  places  in  the  southeastern  portion  they  were  completely  eroded 
before  glacial  times,  and  glacial  drift  lies  directly  upon  Mississippian 
limestones. 

The  accompanying  generalized  section  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
character  and  thickness  of  the  different  formations  exposed  at  the  sur- 


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Pig.  3.  Large  mass  of  Pennsylvanian  shale  and  coal  imbedded  in  glacial  drift 
in  SW.  %  SW.  %  sec.  26,  T.  1  S.,  R.  2.  W. 

face  or  explored  in  deep  drilling  in  this  area,  and  their  relations  to  one 
another. 

Generalized  section  of  hard  rocks  in  Brown  County 
Pennsylvanian   system — ■ 

Carbondale  formation;  consists  of  shales,  sandstones,  thin  limestones, 
and  No.  5  and  No.  2  coals.  Upper  limit  is  the  top  of  No.  6  (Herrin) 
coal  which  is  not  present  in  this  area,  and  lower  limit  is  the  base  of 
No.  2  coal.  Maximum  thickness  in  Brown  County  is  about  130  feet. 
Pottsville  formation;  soft  gray  or  white  clay  shale  (fire  clay),  sandstone, 
and  a  thin  limestone;  from  the  base  of  No.  2  coal  to  the  top  of  Mis- 
sissippian limestone.  Thickness  variable;  6  to  50  feet. 
Mississippian  system — 

St.  Louis  limestone;  white  limestone  conglomerate  or  breccia  near  top, 
fine-grained  buff  or  gray  dolomite  below;  much  broken  and  with  green 
shale  partings.  Thickness  8  to  26  feet. 
Salem  limestone;  green  to  brown  sandstone  above  and  gray  or  brown 
granular,  fossiliferous  limestone  below.  Both  sandstone  and  limestone 
were  formerly  quarried  extensively  for  building  stone.  Thickness  18 
to  35  feet. 


28  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Generalized  section  of  liarcl  rocks  in  Brown  County — Concluded 

Warsaw  formation;  gray  .shales  with  thin,  lenticular  limestone  beds. 
Geodes  are  abundant  in  the  shales,  and  both  limestones  and  shales 
are  crowded  with  bryozoan  remains.  Thickness  30  to  55  feet.  Some- 
times as  much  as  80  feet  is  reported  in  drill  records  but  this  probably 
includes   much    of   the    Salem   and   Keokuk. 

Keokuk  limestone;  thin-bedded,  cherty  limestone  with  abundant  fossils. 
It  outcrops  in  only  one  locality  in  Brown  County  where  an  exposure 
24  feet  thick  was  noted.     Normal  thickness  40  to  75  feet. 

Burlington  limestone;  white,  fossiliferous  limestone  (crinoidal)  with 
abundant  chert.  Not  exposed  in  Brown  County.  The  St.  Louis,  Salem, 
Warsaw,  Keokuk,  and  Burlington  formations  where  penetrated  in  drill 
holes  are  grouped  together  and  called  the  "first  lime"  or  "Mississippian 
limestone".  The  total  thickness  of  this  group  as  shown  in  well  records 
is  from  325  to  350  feet. 

Kinderhook  shale;   gray  shales,  not  exposed  in  Brown  County  and  known 
only    from    drill   records.      Thickness    80    to    100   feet.      In   drill   records 
it    is   usually   not    distinguished   from    the    underlying    Upper    Devonian 
shale.     The  two  have  a  thickness  of  160  to  200  feet. 
Devonian  system — 

Upper  Devonian  shale;  brown  shales  with  numerous  spores  of  Sporangites. 
Thickness  20  to  100  feet.  Not  exposed  in  Brown  County  and  in  well 
records  is  commonly  grouped  with  Kinderhook  shales,  the  two  together 
having   a   thickness   of   160   to   200   feet. 

Devonian   limestone;    known    only    in    drill    records    and    usually    grouped 
with  the   Niagaran,   the   two   having  a  thickness   of   10  to   75   feet.     In 
rare   cases   neither   limestone   is   found. 
Silurian  system — 

Niagaran  dolomite;  porous  limestone  or  dolomite  known  only  in  drill 
records  and  grouped  with  the  Hamilton.  Thickness  10  to  75  feet.  It 
is  in  this  limestone  that  the  gas  of  the  Pike  County  gas  field  occurs. 
Sometimes  a  porous  sandstone  occurs  at  the  base  of  the  Niagaran.  This 
is  the  rock  which  produces  the  oil  of  the  C'olmar  oil  field  and  is  known 
as  the  "Hoing  sand."  When  present  it  varies  in  thickness  from  a  few 
inches  to  30  feet  or  more. 
Ordovician  system — 

Maquoketa  shale;    gray  and  brown  shales,  usually  180  to  200  feet  thick. 

Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone;  gray  limestone  penetrated  only  by  very 
deep  wells.     Usually  200  to  400  feet  thick. 

St.  Peter  sandstone ;  a  pure  white,  clean  sandstone,  containing  large  quanti- 
ties of  water.  This  is  the  rock  which  furnishes  the  water  in  the  deep 
well  at  Mount  Sterling  at  a  depth  of  2,433  feet.  Only  the  deepest  wells 
penetrate  it. 

ROCKS    OUTCROPPING    IN    THE    REGION 
CARBON  DALE    FORMATION 

The  Carbondale  formation  consists  of  gray  shales  with  thin  beds  of 
limestone,  sandstone  and  coal.  It  includes  No.  2,  No.  5,  and  No.  6  coals, 
but  in  Brown  County  No.  6  is  absent,  and  No.  5  is  rarely  found.     No.  2 


BROWN  COUNTY  29 

coal  is  distributed  widely  over  the  county  from  north  to  south,  and  its 
uniform  thickness,  easy  identification,  and  wide  distribution  make  it  by 
far  the  best  key  horizon  for  determining  the  structure. 

A  composite  section  of  this  formation,  showing  its  normal  char- 
acter in  the  north  half  of  the  county  is  as  follows : 

Generalized  section  of  the  Carbondale  formation  in  the  north  half  of  Brown 

County 

Thickness 
Feet        inches 

14.     Shale,    gray 5 

13.     Limestone,  white,  nodular  (key  horizon  No.  8) 2                     6 

12.     Shale,  gray 11 

11.     Limestone,  gray,  with  Chonetes  t  and  Spirifer  cameratus 

(key  horizon  No.- 7) 1 

10.     Shale,  gray 13 

9.     Limestone,  white  or  light  gray,  heavy  nodular  (key  hori- 
zon  No.    6 ) 5 

8.     Clay  shale,  soft,  gray  or  blue 6 

7.     Sandstone  and  sandy  shale 10 

6.     Shales,  blue  gray,  sandy 59 

5.     Limestone,  shaly,  fossiliferous  (key  horizon  No.  5) 2                     6 

4.     Clay  shales,  blue,   sandy 20                     6 

3.     Limestone,  black,  septarian 1 

Z.     Shales,  black,  bituminous,  thin-bedded    (black  slate) ....  3 

1.     No.   2   coal    (key  horizon  No.   4) 2 

141  6 

The  upper  part  of  this  section  is  found  only  in  the  northern  half  of 
the  county.  The  heavy  nodular  limestone  (key  horizon  No.  6)  is  found 
as  far  south  as  the  headwaters  of  Dry  Fork  in  sec.  18,  T.  1  S.,  R.  3  W., 
and  sec.  13,  T.  1  S.,  R.  4  W.  (See  figure  4.)  The  maximum  thickness 
of  the  Carbondale  found  south  of  these  points  is  60  feet.  On  the  whole, 
the  strata  of  the  Carbondale  are  very  uniform  in  thickness,  although 
there  are  local  variations.  No.  5  coal  is  absent  except  in  one  or  two 
localities.  It  has  been  mined  in  sees.  8  and  9,  T.  1  S.,  R.  3  W.,  in  the 
valley  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  Mount  Sterling,  where  it  is  iy2 
to  3  feet  thick  and  lies  15  to  17  feet  above  the  heavy  nodular  limestone 
(key  horizon  No.  6).  The  black  carbonaceous  shale  above  No.  2  coal 
varies  locally  in  thickness  and  in  its  position  above  the  coal.  In  the 
southern  half  of  the  county  it  almost  invariably  lies  directly  on  the  coal, 
while  farther  north  3  to  8  feet  of  blue  shale  may  intervene  between  the 
two.  This  black  shale  bed,  together  with  the  zone  of  large  septarian  con- 
cretions of  black  limestone  above  it,  makes  the. identification  of  No.  2 
coal  easy. 


30 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


POTTSVILLE    FORMATION 


The  Pottsville  formation  includes  all  strata  from  the  base  of  No.  2 
coal  to  the  top  of  the  Mississippian  limestone.  It  is  made  up  principally 
of  shale  or  sandstone  with  an  occasional  bed  of  thin  coal  or  limestone. 
Its  thickness  is  extremely  variable.  North  and  east  of  Mount  Sterling 
it  is  in  places  as  much  as  50  feet.  On  the  hill  at  La  Grange,  near  the 
center  of  sec.  29,  T.  1  S.,  R.  1  W.,  the  following  section  was  measured : 


Section  measured  near  center  of  sec.  29,  T.  1  8.,  R.  1 


W. 


Thickness 


Feet 

14.  Drift  and  loess 105 

13.  Shale,  sandy   15 

12.  Shale,  black,   carbonaceous 3 

11.  No.  2  coal  (key  horizon  No.  4) 1 

10.  Shale  and  underclay . 7 

9.  Limestone,  white,  nodular    (key  horizon  No.   3) 5 

8.  Shale,   gray    3 

7.  Shale,  sandy  3 

6.  Clay  shale,  weathers  out  white 9 

5.  Coal 

4.  Sandstone,    ferruginous 5 

3.  Shales,  sandy,  and  clay 9 

2.  Limestone,    ( St.    Louis) 12 

1.  Dolomite,  sandy   (Salem)    (key  horizon  No.  2) 20 


inches 


199 


Fig.  4.  Nodular  limestone  near  center  of  sec.  8,  T.  1  S.,  R.  3  W. 


BROWN  COUNTY 


31 


The  Pottsville  here  includes  members  3  to  10  with  a  total  thickness 
of  41  feet  4  inches. 

South  of  Mount  Sterling  and  over  the  southern  half  of  the  county 
the  Pottsville  is  rarely  over  15  feet  thick,  and  it  consists  almost  entirely 
of  a  soft,  white  or  light-gray  clay  shale  with  an  occasional  lens  of  sand- 
stone. The  shale  frequently  contains  many  crystals  of  gypsum.  Along 
McGees  Creek  and  its  tributaries  the  thickness  varies  from  7  to  15  feet. 
(See  Fig.  5.)  The  Pottsville  usually  lies  upon  the  St.  Louis  limestone, 
but  in  a  few  instance  exposures  were  found  where  the  St.  Louis  has 
been  completely  eroded  and  the  Pottsville  rested  directly  upon  the  Salem 
limestone. 


Fig.  5.  Bluff  of  Carbondale  and  Pottsville  in  NW.  %  sec.  17,  T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W. 
Pottsville  from  base  of  No.  2  coal  (behind  man)  to  St.  Louis  limestone 
in  creek  bed  is  7%  feet  thick. 


ST.    LOUIS    LIMESTONE 


The  St.  Louis  limestone  is  the  youngest  formation  of  the  Missis- 
sippian  system  found  in  this  region.  It  formed  an  old  land  surface 
previous  to  the  deposition  of  the  Pottsville  rocks  and  consequently  has 
been  partially,  sometimes  completely,  removed  by  erosion.  The  maxi- 
mum thickness  found  in  this  region  is  26  feet.  The  upper  part  consists 
of  a  very  characteristic  white  limestone  conglomerate  or  breccia,  and  the 
lower  part  of  poorly  bedded,  very  fine-grained,  gray  or  buff  dolomite. 
It  is  generally  unfossiliferous  except  for  the  upper  few  feet  in  which  the 
corals    Lithostrotion    proliferum    and    Lithostrotion    canadcnse    are    in 


32 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


places  abundant.  A  prominent  feature  of  the  St.  Louis  is  the  presence 
of  thin  stringers  and  layers  of  bright-green  shale,  which  varies  from  a 
mere  parting  to  two  feet  thick. 

The  following  section  is  typical  of  the  more  complete  exposure  of 
St.  Louis  in  this  region : 


Measured  section  of  St.  Louis  formation  near  center  of  sec.  16,  T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W. 

Thickness 


Feet 
6.     Limestone,   light   gray,   with   abundant   branching    corals 

(Lithostrotion  proliferum) 3 

5.     Limestone,   white,   brecciated 10 

4.     Shale,  green 

3.     Dolomite,  broken,  light  gray 1 

2.     Dolomite,  fine  grained,  sandy 7 

1.     Shale,  green  , 1 


inches 


23 


Fig.  6.  Cross-bedding  in  Salem  limestone,  SE.  %  Sec.  8,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W. 


SALEM    LIMESTONE 

Underlying  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  and  unconformable  with  it,  is 
the  Salem  limestone.  This  formation  is  extremely  variable  in  character 
and  may  consist  of  gray,  crystalline  limestone,  of  limestone  and  sand- 
stone, or  of  a  very  sandy  brown  dolomite.  In  many  cases  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  determine  an  exact  line  of  contact  between  it  and  the  over- 


BROWN  COUNTY 


33 


lying  St.  Louis,  or  the  underlying  Warsaw.  Where  the  gray  crystalline 
limestone  occurs  it  contains  numerous  fossils  and  can  easily  be  identified. 
Following  is  a  list  of  specimens  collected  from  this  horizon  in  the  NE.  34 
sec.  24,  T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W.   : 


Fenestella  sp. 
Productus  altonensis 
Echinoconchus  biseriatus 
Camarotoechia  mutata 
Eumetria  verneuiliana 


Spirifer  bifurcatus 
Spirifer  sp. 
Composita   trinuclea 
Aviculopecten  talboti 
Leperditia   carbonaria 


Professor  T.  E.  Savage  has  examined  the  fossils  and  confirmed  the 
identification  of  the  limestone  as  Salem  in  age. 


Fig.  7.  Peculiar  weathering  of  argillace- 
ous Salem  limestone,  SW.  % 
sec.  23,  T.  2  S.,  R  4  W. 

In  this  phase  it  closely  resembles  the  well-known  Bedford  limestone 
and  has  an  oolitic  appearance  due  to  the  presence  of  small  rounded 
shells  of  the  foraminifer,  Endothyra  baileyi.  It  is  nearly  always  cross- 
bedded  and  this  cross-bedding  is  sometimes  so  perfect  that  the  rock 
splits  into  thin,  parallel  plates.  (See  figure  6.)  The  thickness  varies 
from  12  to  30  feet.  It  is  usually  sandy  near  the  top  and  frequently 
grades  upward  into  a  bright  green,  non-f ossiferous,  calcareous  sand- 


34 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


stone  which  is  generally  2  to  5  feet  thick,  but  which  may  attain  a  thick- 
ness of  12  to  15  feet.  When  this  sandstone  is  absent  the  gray  limestone 
lies  directly  below  the  St.  Louis. 

Another  phase  of  the-  Salem  is  a  soft,  gray,  argillaceous  limestone 
which  in  places  lies  directly  below  the  St.  Louis  and  is  from  10  to  15 
feet  thick.     This  rock  is  poorly  bedded  and  weathers  in  a  peculiar  man- 


Fig.  8.  Massive  brown  dolomite  (Salem), 
SW.  %  sec.  26,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W. 

ner.  On  vertical  outcrops  it  scales  off  at  right  angles  to  the  bedding  in 
thin,  irregular,  curved  plates  from  a  few  inches  to  two  or  three  feet 
across  and  an  inch  or  less  in  thickness.  (See  figure  7.)  This  is  prob- 
ably a  result  of  frost  action. 

The  lower  part  of  the  Salem  is  usually  a  massive,  brown,  sandy 
dolomite  (fig.  8)  which  may  lie  in  sharp  contact  with  the  underlying 
Warsaw  shales  (fig.  9)  or  which  may  grade  so  gradually  into  shale 
both  laterally  and  vertically  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  a  sharp  line  be- 
tween the  two  formations.     (See  figure  10.)     Although  most  exposures 


BROWN  COUNTY 


35 


Fig.  9.  Contact  of  Salem  dolomite  (above)  and  Warsaw  shale  (below),  SW.  % 

sec.  17,  T.  .2   S.,  R.   3   W. 


Fig.  10.  Brown  dolomite  grading  laterally  into   shale,  NW.    ^4   sec.   4,  T.   3   S., 

R.   3    W 


indicate  continuous  deposition  from  Warsaw  to  Salem,  in  one  or  two 
cases  local  unconformities  occur  between  the  two.  (See  figures  11,  12, 
and  13.) 


36 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


WARSAW     FORMATION 

The  Warsaw  formation,  as  exposed  in  this  region,  consists  prin- 
cipally of  blue,  calcareous'  or  clay  shales  with  thin,  lenticular  limestones. 
Both  shales  and  limestones  are  fossiliferous,  bryozoans  being  especially 
abundant.  The  lenticular  nature  of  the  limestones  is  worthy  of  note,  for 
although  a  number  of  such  beds  occur,  they  are  of  small  areal  extent, 
and  it  was  found  impossible  to  trace  a  single  bed  from  place  to  place  so 
that  it  might  be  used  in  working  out  structure.  Geodes  are  common  in 
both  the  shales  and  the  limestones  of  the  Warsaw  formation.  The  max- 
imum thickness  noted  was  55  feet,  but  in  some  of  the  deep  wells  80  feet 
of  shale  has  been  reported.  This  probably  includes  a  part  of  the  Keokuk 
formation. 


Fig.  11.  Local   unconformity   between    Salem    and    Warsaw.      Salem    limestone 
(above)  dipping  to  the  right;  Warsaw  (below)  horizontal. 


The  following  section  is  typical  of  the  Warsaw  of  ihis  region: 

Measured  section  of  the  Warsaiv  formation  along  a  stream  in  SE.  14  sec.  18, 

T.  2  8.,  R.  3  W. 

Thickness 
Feet        inches 

15.     Shale,  blue,  calcareous 2  6 

14.     Clay  shale,  soft,  blue,  unfossiliferous 6 

13.     Limestone,  geodiferous,  with  abundant  fossils 1  6 

12.     Clay  shale,  blue,  full  of  geodes 2 

11.     Clay  shale,  blue    2 

10.     Limestone,    with   abundant    fossils 2  6 


BROWN  COUNTY  37 

Measured  section  of  the  Warsaw  formation — Concluded 

Thickness 
Feet        inches 
9.     Shales,  sandy,  with  thin  lenses  of  limestone,  fossiliferous  4 

8.     Clay  shales,  soft,  blue 6 

7.     Limestone,  sandy,  full  of  fossils .  .  8 

6.     Clay  shales,  soft,  blue,  with  abundant  bryozoans 2 

5.     Clay  shales,  soft,  blue,  free  from  fossils 12 

4.     Geode  bed 6 

3.     Clay  shales,  soft,  blue 4  6 

2.     Clay  shales,  blue,  alternating  with  thin,  sandy  limestone 

beds 4 

1.     Clay  shales,   soft,  blue,   exposed 7 

57  2 


Fig.  12.  Unconformity  between  Salem   (above),  dipping  to  the  right,  and  War- 
saw  (below)  horizontal,  SE.  14  sec.  19,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W. 


KEOKUK    FORMATION 

The  Keokuk  formation  of  this  region  consists  of  an  upper  bed  of 
shale  which  is  crowded  with  geodes  for  the  most  part,  and  a  lower  mem- 
ber of  gray,  crystalline  limestone  with  numerous  lenses  and  thin  layers 
of  chert.  The  Warsaw  shales  lie  above  the  geode  beds  in  perfect  con- 
formity with  them,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  distinguish  between  the 
two  in  this  work.  The  geode  beds  outcrop  along  McGees  Creek  in  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  county. 

The  lower  limestone  member  outcrops  at  only  one  or  two  localities 
near  the  county  line  south  of  Benville,  where  a  maximum  thickness  of 
24  feet  was  measured.     Fossils  collected  from  this  limestone  were  identi- 


38 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


fied  as  of  Keokuk  age  by  Stuart  Weller  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 
This  limestone  is  the  oldest  rock  which  outcrops  in  the  county.  Nothing 
is  known  of  the  rocks  lower  down  in  the  geological  column,  except  from 
information  obtained  in  drilling  deep  wells. 

Rocks  Known  Only  From  Drill  Records 

BURLINGTON    LIMESTONE 

Immediately  below  the  Keokuk  limestone  is  a  thick,  white  limestone 
containing  numerous  masses  of  chert  or  flint.  It  is  never  distinguished 
from  the  Keokuk  in  ordinary  drilling  operations,  but  the  two  are  re- 
ported together  and  have  a  thickness  of  200  to  220  feet.  They  make  up 
the  lower  part  of  the  "first  lime"  or  "Mississippi  lime".  Frequently  the 
whole  series  from  the  top  of  the  St.  Louis  to  the  base  of  the  Burlington 
is  included  as  the  "first  lime"  and  its  total  thickness  is  about  325  to  350 
feet. 


Horizontal  &  vertical  scale  In  feet 


Fig.  13.  Diagram  to  scale,  of  unconformity,  the  left  half  of  which  is  photo- 
graphed in  figure  11. 

KINDERHOOK     AND     UPPER     DEVONIAN     SHALES 

Below  the  Burlington  limestone,  and  forming  the  base  of  the  Missis- 
sippian  system  is  a  thick  bed  of  blue  shale,  known  as  the  Kinderhook 
formation.  Below  it  is  usually  found  a  brown  shale  of  Upper  Devonian 
age,  which  contains  numerous  tiny  spores  of  the  plant  known  as 
Sporangites  huronense.  The  two  shale  beds  are  rarely  distinguished  by 
drillers,  but  are  reported  together  with  a  total  thickness  of  160  to  200 
feet. 


DEVONIAN    LIMESTONE 


A  thin,  gray,  non-magnesian  limestone  is  usually  found  immediately 
below  the  Upper  Devonian  shales.     This  is  believed  to  be  the  late  Mid- 


BROWN  COUNTY  39 

die  Devonian  limestone  of  the  northwest  Illinois  and  Iowa  province. 
It  is  rarely  more  than  15  feet  thick.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  underlying  Niagaran  limestone,  which,  however,  is  usually  a  very 
porous  pink  dolomite.  The  two  together  are  reported  by  drillers  as  the 
"second  lime." 

NIAGARAN    DOLOMITE 

Below  the  Devonian  limestone  is  frequently  found  a  very  porous, 
pink  or  gray  dolomite  of  Silurian  age,  known  as  the  Niagaran  limestone 
or  dolomite.  It  was  deposited  upon  an  irregular,  eroded  surface  and  was 
itself  subjected  to  erosion  before  the  deposition  of  the  overlying 
Devonian  limestone.  In  places  it  was  completely  removed  so  that  the 
Devonian  lies  directly  upon  the  Maquoketa  shale,  but  ordinarily  a  few 
feet  of  Niagaran  is  included  in  the  lower  part  of  the  "second  lime"  as 
reported  by  drillers.  The  greatest  thickness  reported  for  the  two  lime- 
stones is  70  feet. 

The  Niagaran  limestone  is  closely  associated  with  oil  and  gas  pro- 
duction in  western  Illinois.  It  is  the  "gas  rock"  of  the  Pike  County  gas 
field  where  wells  drilled  into  it  more  than  30  years  ago  are  still  pro- 
ducing gas  sufficient  for  farm  use.  Some  of  the  wTells  in  this  field  re- 
ported showings  of  oil  as  well  as  gas,  and  in  one  or  two  wells  small 
quantities  of  oil  have  been  produced  and  used  for  lubricating  purposes. 
The  rock  is  probably  capable  of  acting  as  a  reservoir  for  oil  in  commer- 
cial quantities,  as  well  as  gas.  The  "broken  sand"  often  reported  at  the 
base  of  the  "second  lime"  by  drillers  is  probably  this  porous  dolomite. 
The  oil-sand  of  the  Colmar  oil  field,  known  as  the  Hoing  sand,  lies  just 
below  the  Niagaran  dolomite. 

ORDOVICIAN    ROCKS 

Below  the  Niagaran  limestone  the  drill  penetrates  a  succession  of 
blue,  green,  and  brown  shales,  called  the  Maquoketa  shale.  This  forma- 
tion is  from  180  to  200  feet  thick.  It  has  not  been  known  to  produce 
oil,  but  in  the  Walker  well  drilled  by  the  Indian  Refining  Company,  near 
the  center  of  sec.  9,  T.  2  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Schuyler  County),  a  showing  of 
oil  was  reported  at  a  depth  of  751  feet,  about  74  feet  below  the  top  of 
the  Maquoketa  shale. 

Below  the  Maquoketa  in  this  region  is  the  Kimmswick-Plattin 
limestone,  generally  known  as  the  "Trenton."  It  is  a  gray,  non-mag- 
nesian  limestone,  and  in  this  region  is  200  to  400  feet  thick.  It  is  pene- 
trated only  by  the  deepest  wells.  It  is  not  known  to  be  oil-producing  in 
western    Illinois,   although   a    few   wells   have   been   drilled   into   it.      In 


40  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

southeastern  Illinois  a  few  deep  wells  are  producing  a  small  amount  of 
oil  which  is  believed  to  come  from  the  Trenton.  In  Ohio  and  Indiana 
large  quantities  of  oil  have  been  produced  from  dolomitic  areas  in  the 
Trenton  limestone,  and  increased  production  from  this  horizon  may  pos- 
sibly be  obtained  in  Illinois. 

Below  the  Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  is  the  St.  Peter  sandstone, 
a  clean,  white  sandstone  which  usually  contains  large  quantities  of 
water  but  is  not  known  to  be  oil  producing.  The  water  from  the  deep 
well  at  Mount  Sterling  comes  from  this  formation  at  a  reported  depth 
of  2,433  feet.  The  well  is  said  to  have  been  drilled  to  a  depth  of  2,675 
feet. 

POSSIBLE  OIL-PRODUCING  HORIZONS 

Showings  of  oil  or  gas  have  been  reported  from  several  different 
horizons  in  the  rocks  which  underlie  this  area,  but  in  western  Illinois 
commercial  quantities  of  oil  have  been  produced  from  only  one  such 
horizon.  The  oil  produced  in  the  Colmar  field  comes  from  a  porous 
sandstone  lying  immediately  below  the  Niagaran  dolomite.  This  is 
known  as  the  "Hoing  sand,"  and  it  is  this  horizon  which  gives  the  most 
promise  of  producing  oil  in  Brown  County.  Unfortunately  it  does  not 
occur  as  a  continuous  bed  extending  throughout  the  region,  but  is  found 
only  in  isolated  lenses.  This  makes  prospecting  unusually  hazardous, 
since  it  is  impossible  to  predict  in  advance  of  drilling  whether  or  not  the 
sand  will  be  present. 

The  known  areas  underlain  by  this  sand  vary  in  extent  from  4  or 
5  square  miles  or  less  up  to  40  or  50  square  miles.  The  lens  which 
furnishes  most  of  the  production  in  the  Colmar  field  has  an  areal  extent 
of  about  10  square  miles,  but  most  of  the  production  comes  from  less 
than  half  of  this  area.  In  general  it  appears  that  the  sand  bodies  have  a 
lenticular  or  oval  shape,  with  their  greatest  diameter  in  a  northeast- 
southwest  direction.  Where  two  or  more  lenses  are  known  to  lie  in 
close  proximity  they  have  a  northeast-southwest  arrangement.  It  is  still 
uncertain,  however,  whether  this  generalization  can  safely  be  used  in 
prospecting.  The  thickness  of  the  sand  bodies  varies  from  a  few  inches 
to  30  feet. 

The  exact  age  of  the  Hoing  sand  has  never  been  determined,  but  it 
is  certainly  early  Silurian,  and  there  is  some  evidence  to  indicate  that  it 
is  of  early  Edgewood  age.  The  shape  and  distribution  of  the  sand 
bodies  point  either  to  deposition  of  sand  in  isolated  low  areas  prior  to  the 
deposition  of  the  overlying  dolomite,  or  to  extensive  erosion  after  de- 
position of  the  sand,  so  that  only  isolated  patches  survived. 


BROWN  COUNTY  41 

Another  horizon  in  which  slight  amounts  of  oil  have  been  found  is 
the  Niagaran  limestone  or  dolomite.  It  is  very  porous  and  is  probably 
capable  of  serving  as  a  reservoir  for  the  accumulation  of  oil,  although 
so  far  as  known,  oil  has  never  been  found  in  it  in  commercial  quantities. 
A  well  drilled  on  the  Claude  Shinn  farm,  sec.  36,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.,  pene- 
trated porous  Niagaran  filled  with  a  heavy,  black  oil  which  is  almost  as 
viscous  as  pitch.  The  Ohio  Oil  Company  reported  a  heavy  black  oil 
from  the  Niagaran  in  the  Seaborn  well  in  sec.  6,  T.  4  S.,  R.  4  W.,  Pike 
County.  Gas  is  frequently  reported  by  drillers,  and  in  the  Pike  County 
gas-field  wells  have  been  producing  from  the  Niagaran  for  many  years. 

Slight  showings  of  oil  are  occasionally  found  in  the  Maquoketa 
shale,  and  if  a  porous  sandstone  were  present  to  act  as  a  reservoir  in 
which  oil  could  accumulate,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  this  formation  might  be- 
come productive,  but  no  such  accumulations  have  been  found.  In  the 
Walker  well,  drilled  by  the  Indian  Refining  Company  in  sec.  9,  T.  2  N., 
R.  2.  W.,  Schuyler  County,  oil  was  reported  in  the  Maquoketa  shale  at 
a  depth  of  751  feet,  and  about  seven  gallons  of  a  light,  brown  oil  are 
said  to  have  been  taken  out. 

STRUCTURE 
General  Statement 
The  rocks  in  the  area  covered  by  this  report  lie  practically  horizon- 
tal, as  far  as  can  be  seen  by  the  casual  observer.  There  are  a  few  ex- 
posures where  the  beds  are  seen  to  be  dipping  (figs.  11  and  12),  but  the 
dip  of  such  beds  is  probably  due  rather  to  the  irregularity  of  the  surface 
upon  which  they  were  deposited,  than  to  any  folding  or  tilting  of  the 
rocks  since  their  deposition.  However,  if  a  single  layer  of  rock,  such 
as  a  bed  of  coal  or  limestone  is  traced  over  large  areas,  and  its  elevation 
above  sea  level  determined  at  numerous  points,  it  will  be  found  higher 
at  some  places  than  at  others.  If  enough  elevations  are  determined, 
areas  can  be  located  in  which  the  rocks  have  been  arched  up  into  low 
"anticlines"  or  "domes."  Careful  studies  have  shown  that  all  of  the  rocks 
under  this  region  lie  approximately  parallel  to  each  other,  so  that  if  a 
single  bed  is  found  to  be  arched  up,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  under- 
lying rocks  are  arched  up  in  the  same  manner  and  at  the  same  place. 
Moreover,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  larger  part  of  the  folding  in  this 
region  took  place  after  the  deposition  of  the  "Coal  Measures"  or 
Pennsylvanian  rocks,  so  that  No.  2  coal,  for  example,  is  probably  folded 
about  as  much  as  the  Niagaran  limestone  or  other  rocks  several  hundred 
feet  below.  It  is  true  that  the  region  oscillated  above  and  below  sea  level 
several  times  during  the  deposition  of  these  rocks,  and  erosion  took  place 
during  periods  of  emergence  so  that  the  planes  of  contact  between  differ- 


42 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


Ist.drill  hole 


Pig.  14.  Diagrams  showing  conditions  governing  oil  accumulation: 

A.  In  oil  sands  saturated  with  salt  water; 

B.  In  oil  sands  partly  saturated; 

C.  In  sands  containing  no  water  and  only  partly  filled  with  oil. 


BROWN  COUNTY  43 

ent  formation  are  in  many  cases  quite  irregular.  The  oscillations  oc- 
curred without  much  deformation,  however,  so  that  each  new  series  of 
beds  was  laid  down  nearly  parallel  to  the  beds  below.  This  makes  it 
safe  to  assume  that  anticlines  existing  in  rocks  at  the  surface  also  exist 
in  any  oil  sands  which  may  occur  at  some  depth. 

Relation  of  Structure  to  Accumulation  of  Oil 
Where  oil  occurs  in  the  rocks  there  are  three  principal  factors 
which  govern  its  accumulation  into  pools.  These  factors  are :  the  exist- 
ence of  a  porous  reservoir,  the  presence  of  impervious  rocks  above  and 
below  the  porous  reservoir,  and  the  favorable  rock  structure.  There  are 
other  factors  which  may  apply  in  certain  cases,  but  in  the  area  under 
consideration  the  three  enumerated  are  believed  to  be  the  most  import- 
ant. 

Previous  testing  has  shown  that  in  places  oil  occurs  in  the  rocks 
underlying  western  Illinois  and  that  where  conditions  are  favorable  it 
has  accumulated  in  commercial  quantities.  These  favorable  conditions 
are  the  presence  of  the  porous  Hoing  sand,  with  the  impervious  Maquo- 
keta  shale  below  it,  and  the  relatively  impervious  Silurian  or  Devonian 
limestone  or  Devonian  shale  above  it,  and  anticlinal  or  dome  structures 
in  the  rocks.  Most  of  the  oil  from  the  Colmar  field  has  been  obtained 
from  a  single  lens  of  porous  sandstone  (the  Hoing  sand)  lying  on  a 
structural  terrace  on  the  flanks  of  a  large,  elongate  dome.  Other  lenses 
of  sandstone  higher  up  on  the  dome  have  produced  smaller  amounts  of 
oil.  The  rock  structure  here  was  an  all-important  factor  in  determining 
the  location  of  accumulations  of  oil. 

In  an  area  where  structures  such  as  anticlines  or  domes  are  present, 
the  localization  of  oil  accumulations  depends  upon  conditions  which  can 
be  determined  only  by  drilling,  such  as  the  lateral  extent  of  the  oil  sand 
and  the  presence  in  it  of  salt  water.  If  the  sand  underlies  only  a  por- 
tion of  an  anticline  or  dome,  then  only  that  portion  can  be  productive  re- 
gardless of  favorable  structures.  If  the  sand  contains  salt  water  as  well 
as  oil,  the  two  will  be  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  specific  gravities, 
with  the  oil  above  the  water.  If  the  sand  is  completely  saturated  with 
the  two  fluids,  the  oil  will  lie  in  the  highest  portions  of  the  structure, 
that  is,  at  the  crest  of  the  anticline  or  dome,  while  the  water  will  occupy 
the  synclines  or  basins.  (See  figure  1-iA.)  If  the  sand  is  only  partly 
saturated  the  water  will  still  occupy  the  basins  with  the  oil  above  it  on 
the  limbs  or  slope  of  the  anticlines.  If  these  slopes  are  flattened  at  any 
point,  forming  a  terrace,  the  oil  is  very  likely  to  lie  on  such  a  terrace. 
(See  figure  14B.)  The  main  productive  area  in  the  Colmar  field  lies  on 
just  such  a  terrace.    If  there  is  little  or  no  water  in  the  sand  the  oil  will 


44  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

occupy  the  basins.  (See  figure  14C.)  However,  in  western  Illinois  as 
far  as  is  known  at  present  the  Hoing  sand  always  contains  considerable 
quantities  of  water,  and  oil  when  present  has  never  been  found  in  the 
synclines  or  basins.  Extensive  testing  in  the  region  surrounding  the  Col- 
mar  field  has  shown  the  presence  of  several  unconnected  bodies  of  Hoing 
sand  of  considerable  size,  but  in  most  cases  they  are  well  filled  with  salt 
water.  A  large  area  in  the  vicinity  of  Littleton  in  Schuyler  County  is 
underlain  by  Hoing  sand  and  is  arched  into  a  well-developed  dome.  A 
well  drilled  almost  at  the  center  of  the  dome  found  large  quantities  of 
water  in  the  sand  with  only  a  small  showing  of  oil.  Other  wells  found 
slight  showings  of  oil,  but  all  found  salt  water.  It  is  evident  that  this  sand 
body  is  completely  saturated  with  salt  water  together  with  a  very  small 
amount  of  oil. 

Previous  experience  has  shown  that  prospecting  for  oil  in  this  region 
may  well  be  confined  to  testing  of  known  structures,  if  the  structures 
can  be  determined  by  a  study  of  surface  rocks.  Taking  everything  into 
consideration,  it  is  believed  that  the  first  test  wells  should  be  located  near 
the  crests  of  the  domes  and  anticlines.  If  the  sand  is  found  to  be  absent, 
further  testing  would  not  be  advisable  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  If  the 
sand  is  present  but  is  filled  with  salt  water,  further  testing  down  the  dip 
would  not  be  advisable,  for  the  lower  portions  of  the  sand  are  likely  to 
be  filled  with  water  also  unless  a  separate  sand  body  is  encountered.  Just 
such  a  condition  appears  to  exist  in  the  Colmar  field,  however,  where 
the  main  production  is  from  a  sand  body  on  a  terrace  60  feet  lower  than 
the  crest  of  the  dome ;  yet  many  wells  drilled  high  up  on  the  dome  found 
large  quantities  of  water  in  the  sand.  If  a  first  test  reveals  a  good  sand 
near  the  top  of  the  structure,  but  barren  of  water  or  oil,  other  tests 
should  be  drilled  farther  down  on  the  slope,  especially  on  terraces.  If  a 
good  sand  is  found  on  a  terrace,  but  still  barren  of  oil  or  water,  final 
tests  may  be  drilled  in  the  synclines,  where  oil  is  likely  to  accumulate  if 
the  sand  contains  little  or  no  water. 

Detailed  Structure 

The  detailed  structure  was  worked  out  by  obtaining  the  elevation 
of  the  seven  key  horizons  described  above.  The  most  uniform  and  most 
reliable  of  all  these  horizons  is  No.  2  coal,  and  it  was  selected  as  the  one 
most  likely  to  show  all  details  of  structure.  Its  elevation  above  sea  level 
was  determined  either  by  direct  leveling  or  by  computation  from  the  ele- 
vations of  the  other  key  horizons,  and  a  structure-contour  map  con- 
structed by  drawing  lines  through  all  points  of  equal  elevation.  This 
map  is  reproduced  in  Plate  I,  and  it  reveals  the  structure  as  follows: 


BROWN  COUNTY  45 

In  general  the  coal  dips  to  the  east,  but  it  has  a  rolling  surface  upon 
which  are  developed  small  domes,  anticlines,  terraces,  and  synclines. 
The  maximum  elevation  attained  is  653  feet  in  sec.  5,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Fairmount  Twp.),  just  over  the  line  in  Pike  County.  The  coal  in  the 
southwestern  portion  of  Brown  County  is  high,  with  a  decline  to  the 
east  of  123  feet  to  an  elevation  of  530  near  Illinois  River.  In  the  north- 
western portion  of  the  county  it  is  again  high,  rising  to  an  elevation  of 
617  in  sec.  29,  T.  1  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.),  and  decreasing  to 
the  east  to  an  elevation  of  516  in  sec.  24,  T.  1  N.,  R.  3  W.  (Missouri 
Twp.).  Outcrops  are  almost  lacking  in  a  broad  belt  across  the  central 
portion  of  the  county  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  predict  the  structure  in 
that  area. 

Covering  most  of  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.),  and  parts  of 
adjoining  townships  is  a  broad  terrace  upon  which  lie  three  small  domes. 
The  terrace  has  an  elevation  of  about  580  feet  above  sea  level.  A  small 
dome  covers  most  of  sec.  6,  T.  1  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Lee  Twp.),  and  sec.  1, 
T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Buckhorn  Twp.)  At  the  apex  of  the  dome  in  the  NE.  yA 
sec.  6,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.),  the  coal  has  an  elevation  of 
607  feet  and  is  about  30  feet  higher  than  to  the  north  and  east.  To  the 
south  and  west  there  is  only  a  slight  decline. 

In  sec.  7,  8,  9,  17,  and  18,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.)  is  an 
irregular  flat  dome  upon  which  the  coal  lies  at  an  elevation  of  600  feet 
or  30  feet  higher  than  in  the  area  to  the  north  and  east. 

A  broad  terrace  at  an  elevation  of  580  feet  covers  most  of  the 
southern  half  of  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.),  with  a  slight  doming 
in  sees.  13,  24,  and  25.  The  apex  lies  at  596  feet  in  section  13.  To  the 
east  the  rocks  dip  off  rapidly,  so  that  the  apex  of  the  dome  rises  about 
50  feet.  To  the  west  there  is  first  a  gentle  dip,  then  the  rocks  rise  into  a 
sharp  anticline. 

Extending  almost  due  north  in  sees.  16,  17,  20,  21,  32,  and  33,  T.  2  S., 
R.  4  W.  (Buckhorn  Twp.),  is  a  sharp  anticlinal  nose  on  which  the 
coal  lies  50  to  60  feet  higher  than  to  the  north,  east,  and  west.  The  shape 
of  this  structure  on  the  south  has  not  been  determined,  since  field  work 
extended  only  a  short  distance  south  of  the  county  line.  The  highest 
known  point  is  in  the  NW.  ]/\  sec.  5,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp.), 
Pike  County,  where  the  coal  lies  653  feet  above  sea  level.  To  the  west  the 
coal  dips  steeply  into  a  narrow  syncline,  while  to  the  east  it  slopes  gently 
toward  the  broad  terrace  in  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.)  It  is  pos- 
sible that  additional  data  in  Pike  County  will  modify  this  structure,  and 
that  the  coal  may  rise  even  higher  to  the  south. 

In  T.  1  S.,  R.  2  W.  (Cooperstown  Twp.),  is  an  area  of  uplift,  but 
outcrops  are  very  few,  in  this  township,  and  it  is  impossible  to  outline  the 


46  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

structure  accurately.  The  data  available  suggest  a  broad  dome  with  its 
apex  in  sections  27,  28,  32,  33,  and  34,  in  which  the  coal  lies  20  to  30  feet 
higher  than  in  the  area  to  the  west,  and  50  to  60  feet  higher  than  in  the 
area  to  the  east.    It  slopes  off  gently  to  the  north  and  south. 

In  T.  1  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.),  is  a  dome  with  its  apex 
lying  in  sections  20,  21,  28,  and  29,  at  an  elevation  of  617  feet.  It  is  30 
feet  higher  than  to  the  east,  south,  and  west.  To  the  northeast  it  flat- 
tens out  into  a  broad  terrace,  covering  sections  2,  3,  9,  10,  15,  and  16  at 
an  elevation  of  590  to  600  feet.  In  sections  13  and  14  of  the  same  town- 
ship is  a  slight  dome  arising  about  20  feet  above  the  surrounding  terri- 
tory, and  sloping  off  into  a  low,  narrow  anticline  to  the  northeast  in 
sees.  5,  6,  7,  and  8,  T.  1  N.,  R.  3  W.   (Missouri  Twp.) 

A  narrow  strip  across  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  covering 
parts  of  Missouri  and  Ripley  townships,  was  studied  in  1914  by  Morse 
and  Rich.1  The  structural  relations  suggested  by  them  have  been  slightly 
modified  by  new  data,  obtained  in  the  course  of  the  present  work,  but 
no  important  changes  need  be  made.  A  dome  exists  in  sees.  1,  2,  11, 
and  12,  T.  1  N.,  R.  3  W.  (Missouri  Twp.),  as  indicated  by  their  work, 
with  a  large  syncline  to  the  southeast.  The  broad  Ripley  dome  in  T.  1  N., 
R.  2  W.  (Woodstock,  Schuyler  County,  and  Ripley,  Brown  County), 
is  best  interpreted  as  a  terrace,  since  the  new  data  indicates  that  the  con- 
tour lines  do  not  close  around  the  south  end. 

A  small  synclinal  basin  in  sees.  8,  9,  16,  and  17,  T.  1  S.,  R.  3  W. 
(Mt.  Sterling  Twp.),  completes  the  list  of  structures  brought  out  by 
the  contour  map. 

LOCALITIES  PREVIOUSLY  TESTED 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  discover  oil  in  the  area  covered 
by  this  report,  and  five  wells  have  been  drilled.  The  first  is  said  to  have 
been  drilled  40  or  50  years  ago  in  sec.  24  or  25,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W. 
(Elkhorn  Twp.),  by  local  people,  but  no  data  is  available  as  to  the  depth 
of  the  well  or  the  result  of  the  test.  The  next  test  well  was  drilled  in 
1914  on  the  J.  and  L.  Parke  farm  in  sec.  25,  T.  1  S.,  R.  2  W.  (Coopers- 
town  Twp.),  by  the  Pure  Oil  Operating  Company.  No  sand  was  found 
at  the  base  of  the  Niagaran  limestone,  and  the  well  was  abandoned. 
The  log  of  the  well  is  a  follows : 


1  Morse,    Wm.    C,    and   Kay,    Fred  H.,    The    area   south   of   Colmar   oil   field:    111. 
State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  31,  pp.  8-36,   1915. 


BROWN  COUNTY  47 

Log  of  J.  and  L.  Parke  well,  sec.  25  T.  1  S.,  R.  2  W. 

Surface  elevation — 648  feet 

Thickness     Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Sand  and  gravel    (glacial  drift) 125  125 

Limestone    (Salem)    20  145 

Slate  and  shale   (Warsaw  and  Keokuk) 80  225 

Limestone    (Keokuk  and  Burlington) 227  452 

Slate  (Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian) 195  647 

Limestone    (Devonian  and  Niagaran) 67  714 

Total  depth    714 

Another  well  was  drilled  in  1914  on  the  Sale  Johnson  farm  in  the 
NE.  %  sec.  24,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W.,  almost  on  the  line  between  Brown  and 
Adams  counties.  Here  also  the  sand  was  absent  and  the  well  was  dry. 
The  log  of  this  well  with  formation  names  inserted  in  parentheses  by 
the  author  is  reported  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Lancaster,  as  follows : 

Log  of  Sale  Johnson  well,  NE.  %  sec.  2k,  T.  2  8.,  R.  5  W. 
Surface  elevation — 609   feet 


Clay  and  gravel 

Gray  lime  (strong  flow  of  water)    (Salem) 

Blue  shale,  with  thin  streak  of  shells   (Warsaw  and  Keokuk) 
White  lime  (strong  flow  of  water)    (Keokuk  and  Burlington) 

Green    shale ") 

Blue   shale L(  Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian) 

Brown   shale I 

Gray  lime  cap  rock   (Devonian  and  Niagaran) 

Blue   shale    ( Maquoketa ) 

Gray  shale  showing  streaks  of  sand  shells    (Maquoketa).... 

Total   depth 630 

Following  this  the  Pea  Ridge  Oil  Company  drilled  two  wells  (in 
1915  and  1916)  on  the  Thomas  May  farm  in  sees.  20  and  21',  T.  1  N., 
R.  4  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.)  The  first  was  drilled  in  the  N.  j/2  SW.  % 
section  21  and  penetrated  two  feet  of  good  sand  with  a  slight  show  of 
oil,  but  with  much  salt  water.  The  second  well  was  drilled  about  half  a 
mile  southwest  of  the  first  in  the  SE.  l/±  section  20  and  penetrated  12 
feet  of  sand  but  was  likewise  dry.  The  logs  of  the  two  wells  are  as 
follows: 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

14 

14 

24 

38 

90 

128 

220 

348 

25 

373 

40 

413 

120 

533 

30 

563 

27 

590 

40 

630 

48  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Log  of  May  well  No.  1,  N.  y2  8W.  %  sec.  21,  T.  1  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.) 

Elevation — 620  feet 

Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Loam  clay,  soapstone 14  14 

Coal    (No.  2) 2  16 

Soapstone   )  9  25 

Lime  shale }  (Pottsville)         R  39 

Lime    rock )  5  80 

„  .        .  >     (St.      LOUiS)  o/J  fyr 

Green  shale j  36  75 

Lime  rock  (Salem,  Warsaw,  Keokuk  and  Burlington) 290  370 

Green    shale ]  140  510 

Brown   shale UKinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian)         15  525 

Light   shale J  25  550 

Lime  rock  (Devonian  or  Niagaran) 10  560 

Sand   (Hoing)    .'.'. 2  562 

Gray  shale  (Maquoketa) 20%  582% 


Total   depth    582% 

Show  of  oil  in  the  sand,  but  salt  water  rose  200  feet  in  the  hole  above  the 
sand. 

Log  of  May  well  No.  2,  SE.  V^  sec.  20,  T.  1  N.,  R.  k  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.)    , 

Elevation  635  feet 


Dirt  and  shale  to  coal 18  18 

Coal  streaked  with  shale  (No.  2) .  . , 8  26 

Shale    ]  12  38 

Lime  rock j,  Pottsville  2  40 

Hard    pan J  7  47 

Lime    rock "j  3  50 

Broken  lime  rock 8  58 

Blue  lime  rock , 


Broken  lime  rock 

Solid  lime  rock 

Broken  lime  rock 

Solid  lime  rock 

Broken  lime  rock 

Solid    lime    rock 

Water-bearing   lime    rock 

Solid  lime  rock 

Shale   with    ore 

Gray  shale 

Shale 

Lighter  shale 


4  62 

("First  lime"   St.                  8  70 

Louis,  Salem,  Warsaw,       20  90 

.Keokuk,   and  Burling-       20  110 

ton  formations)                  10  120 

20  140 

70  210 

30  240 

150  390 

3  393 

57  450 


(Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian)  90  540 

13  553 

Lime    rock    (Devonian    and    Niagaran) 22  575 

Sand   (Hoing)    12  587 


Total  depth    587 


BROWN  COUNTY  49 

RECOMMENDATIONS 
Future  testing  of  the  localities  here  mentioned  should  take  into  full 
account  the  factors  previously  described  which  govern  the  accumulation 
of  oil.  Since  the. oil  sand  is  absent  over  large  areas  drilling  must  be 
more  uncertain  than  is  ordinarily  the  case,  in  spite  of  the  existence  of 
favorable  geological  structures.  The  shallow  depth  at  which  oil  may  be 
expected,  however,  makes  drilling  comparatively  inexpensive  and  a  dry 
hole  does  not  mean  such  a  loss  as  in  the  case  of  deep  drilling.  In  gen- 
eral, prospecting  should  be  carried  out  with  the  principles  stated  in  the 
section  on  relation  of  structure  to  oil  accumulation  as  a  guide. 

1.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  dome  in  sees.  20,  21,  27,  28, 
and  29,  T.  1  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.),  would  be  recommended 
for  thorough  testing.  However,  both  of  the  wells  drilled  by  the  Pea 
Ridge  Oil  and  Gas  Company  lie  on  the  structure.  No.  2  coal  lies  8  feet 
lower  in  well  No.  1  than  in  well  No.  2,  but  the  elevation  of  the  top  of 
the  oil  sand  is  the  same  in  the  two  wells.  These  wells  show  that  the  oil 
sand  is  thickening  to  the  west  and  south.  Since  it  contained  only  salt 
water,  any  accumulation  of  oil  in  the  same  sand  body  must  lie  up  the 
dip.  Unfortunately  the  field  data  is  insufficient  to  show  the  structure 
to  the  west  of  these  two  wells.  It  is  evident  that  if  the  coal  rises  higher 
it  must  be  to  the  west  or  southwest,  for  it  is  dipping  to  the  north,  east, 
and  south.  The  chances  are  good  that  a  well  drilled  half  a  mile  to  a  mile 
southwest  of  Thomas  May  No.  2  would  penetrate  the  sand  well  up  the 
dip. 

2.  A  long  terrace  lies  to  the  northeast  of  the  May  wells,  in  sees. 
11,  12,  13,  and  14,  T.  1  N.,  R.  4  W.,  (Pea  Ridge  Twp.)  and  sees.  5,  7,  8, 
and  18,  T.  1  N.,  R.  3  W.  (Missouri  Twp.)  It  is  unlikely  that  the  sand 
body  extends  very  far  to  the  east  of  May  No.  1  since  it  was  there  only 
two  feet  thick.  A  successful  test  on  this  terrace  would  depend  upon  the 
presence  of  a  sand  lens  entirely  separated  from  the  one  to  the  southwest, 
and  lying  at  a  lower  elevation.  If  the  generalization  referred  to  in  the 
section  on  the  relation  of  structure  to  accumulation  of  oil  can  be  relied 
upon,  this  terrace  should  be  the  logical  place  to  expect  to  find  such  a  lens. 
The  best  location  for  a  test  is  probably  in  the  east  half  of  sec.  13,  T.  1  N.. 
R.  4  W. 

3.  The  dome  covering  parts  of  sees.  1,  2,  11,  and  12,  T.  1  N., 
R.  3  W.,  extends  east  into  Schuyler  County  where  it  has  already  been 
thoroughly  tested  by  three  wells  of  the  Ohio  Oil  Company.  No  sand 
was  found  in  any  of  the  three  wells,  which  therefore  discredit  the  dome. 

4.  There  is  an  elevated  area  in  the  southern  half  of  T.  1  S.,  R.  2  W. 
(Cooperstown  Twp.),  which  can  not  be   accurately  outlined   owing   to 


50  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

lack  of  data.  The  well  drilled  in  1914  on  the  Parke  farm  is  located  about 
2y2  miles  northeast  of  the  highest  part  of  this  structure,  as  far  as  the 
available  data  indicates.  Since  the  Parke  well  failed  to  find  the  sand, 
testing  of  this  structure  should  remain  until  the  more  favorable  areas 
have  been  prospected.  The  best  location  for  such  a  test  is  in  the  NE.  *4 
sec.  33,  T.  1  S.,  R.  2  W. 

5.  Perhaps  the  most  attractive-looking  structure  in  the  county  is 
the  broad  terrace  in  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Elkhorn  Twp.)  There  have 
been  no  wells  drilled  within  8  or  10  miles  except  the  old  well  drilled 
40  or  50  years  ago  in  section  24  or  25,  and  concerning  which  little  is 
known.  There  is  a  large  area  over  which  the  structure  is  favorable,  and 
if  it  could  be  demonstrated  that  the  oil  sand  is  present,  very  thorough 
prospecting  would  be  advisable.  Since  there  is  no  information  as  to  the 
distribution  of  the  oil  sand,  the  first  test  should  be  located  on  the  highest 
point  on  the  structure  which  is  in  the  NE.  y  sec.  6,  T.  2  S.,  R.  3  W. 
Another  area  almost  as  high  crosses  sections  7,  8,  9,  17,  and  18.  A  test 
of  this  area  might  well  be  located  in  the  S.  y2  section  8  or  the  NW.  J4 
section  17. 

To  the  southeast  of  these  two  areas  lies  the  main  portion  of  the 
terrace  about  20  feet  lower,  with  its  general  surface  at  an  elevation  of 
680  feet  above  sea  level.  In  the  SW.  %  section  13,  however,  it  rises  to 
an  elevation  of  596  feet,  then  dips  rapidly  to  the  north  and  northeast.  An 
initial  test  would  best  be  located  in  the  NW.  ^4  section  24  or  the  NE.  V^ 
section  23.  If  early  tests  on  the  higher  portions  of  the  structure  prove 
unproductive,  the  broad  portion  of  the  terrace  in  sections  21,  22,  23,  24, 
25,  26,  and  27  should  be  tested  later. 

6.  The  highest  structure  in  the  county  and  for  that  reason  one  of 
the  most  favorable,  is  the  anticline  in  the  south  half  of  T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Buckhorn  Twp.),  and  extending  over  the  line  into  Pike  County.  Here 
No.  2  coal  rises  more  than  50  feet  in  a  distance  of  only  about  a  mile. 
On  the  crest  of  the  anticline  it  lies  at  an  elevation  of  653  feet  and  slopes 
off  to  600  feet  in  about  a  mile  to  the  west,  to  590  in  about  3J^  miles  to  the 
east,  and  to  590  in  about  6  miles  to  the  north,  thus  forming  an  anticlinal 
nose  to  the  north.  The  dry  hole  drilled  on  the  Sale  Johnson  farm  in  1914 
lies  almost  at  the  bottom  of  a  syncline,  and  is  about  three  miles  distant 
from  the  crest  of  the  anticline.  The  extension  of  this  structure  to  the 
south  will  no  doubt  be  modified  by  further  mapping,  but  it  has  been 
sufficiently  outlined  to  make  testing  desirable.  At  present  the  best  lo- 
cation for  a  test  appears  to  be  in  the  S.  y2  sec.  32,  T.  2  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Buckhorn  Twp.),  Brown  County,  or  the  N.  y2  sec.  5,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Fairmount  Twp.),  Pike  County,  and  further  testing  should  probably 
extend  to  the  northeast. 


GOODHOPE   AND  LA  HARPE  QUADRANGLES 

By  Merle  L.  Nebel 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction 51 

Acknowledgments 52 

Strata  outcropping  at  the  surface 52 

Strata  penetrated   in   drilling. 53 

Possible    oil-bearing    horizons ....... 59 

Relation  of  accumulation  to  folds  in  the  oil-bearing  bed 62 

Structure 63 

General  discussion , 63 

Detailed  descriptions 64 

Localities  already  tested 66 

Gas  in  the  glacial  drift 66 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATES 

II.     Map  of  Goodhope  quadrangle  showing  structural  contours  based 
upon  the  elevation  of  No.  2  coal   (red)   and  upon  the  elevation 

of  the  Burlington  limestone  (black)  above  sea  level 62 

III.  Map  of  La  Harpe  quadrangle  showing  structural  contours  based 
upon  the  elevation  of  No.  2  coal  (red)  and  upon  the  elevation  of 
the   Burlington  limestone    (black)    above   sea   level 66 

FIGUKE 

15.  Graphic  section  showing  the  succession  of  strata  underlying  Good- 
hope  and  La  Harpe  quadrangles 54 

INTRODUCTION 

This  report  has  been  prepared  in  response  to  numerous  requests 
for  information  concerning  the  structure  of  the  area  described  in  rela- 
tion to  possible  occurrences  of  oil  or  gas,  and  does  not  attempt  to  de- 
scribe the  geology  in  detail.  The  latter  information  will  be  contained  in 
a  more  complete  report  in  the  course  of  preparation  which  will  be  pub- 
lished later.  The  field  work  upon  which  both  reports  are  based  was  done 
in  the  summer  and  fall  months  of  1917. 

Although  a  few  wells  have  been  drilled  in  the  area  in  search  for 
oil,  it  has  by  no  means  been  thoroughly  prospected.  The  oil  sand  from 
which  it  is  most  reasonable  to  expect  to  obtain  oil,  the  Hoing  sand  of 
the  Colmar  field,  is  known  to  be  absent  in  certain  parts  of  the  Goodhope- 
La  Harpe  region,  and  it  is  probably  present  only  as  isolated  lenses  or 

(51) 


52  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

sand  bodies  in  scattered  localities.  The  geologist  can  not  predict  the 
presence  of  this  sand  in  advance  of  the  drill,  and  the  most  that  he  at- 
tempts to  do  is  to  eliminate  as  much  of  the  chance  as  possible  by  point- 
ing out  areas  in  which  the  rocks  are  arched  up  into  domes  or  anticlines. 
Here  accumulation  can  take  place  if  the  oil  sand  and  certain  other  con- 
ditions are  present,  and  if  water  saturation  is  complete  enough  to  hold 
the  oil  or  gas  in  the  upward  folds.  It  would  be  wise  to  confine  testing 
to  areas  in  which  favorable  structures  have  been  found,  since  the  natural 
hazards  of  prospecting  can  in  that  way  be  reduced.  Although  no  one 
can  guarantee  oil  at  a  given  location,  nevertheless  valuable  services  can 
be  rendered  by  limiting  exploration  to  small  areas. 

Acknowledgments 

In  his  field  work  in  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle  and  a  portion  of  the 
Goodhope  quadrangle  the  writer  was  assisted  by  Marvin  Weller.  An 
introduction  to  the  geology  of  the  region  was  given  by  T.  E.  Savage  in 
a  short  reconnaissance  trip.  Information  concerning  coal  and  other 
strata  penetrated  by  wells  was  freely  furnished  by  most  of  the  residents. 
The  assistance  of  John  W.  Coghill,  Jr.,  of  Roseville,  was  especially  val- 
uable in  this  connection. 


STRATA  OUTCROPPING  AT  THE  SURFACE 

In  the  Goodhope  quadrangle  only  rocks  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
("Coal  Measures")  system  outcrop.  In  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle  both 
Pennsylvanian  and  the  underlying  Mississippian  rocks  are  found.  A 
composite  section  made  up  from  a  study  of  many  outcrops,  and  showing 
the  character  and  thickness  of  the  various  strata  is  as  follows : 


Composite  section  of  Pennsylvanian  and  Mississippian  rocks  in  the  Goodhope* 

La  Harpe  region 

Thickness 
Character  of  strata  Feet 

Pleistocene  and  Recent 

Sand,  gravel,  glacial  till    (boulder  clay)    and  soil 1  to  220 

Pennsylvanian  system 
Carbondale  formation 

Shale,  limestone,  and  coal,  to  the  base  of  No.  2  coal 2  to     85 

Pottsville  formation 

Shale,  sandstone,  limestone,  and  coal    (including  No.   1  coal)..     20  to  125 
Mississippian  system 
St.  Louis  limestone 
Brecciated  limestone  and  dolomite. 20  to     35 


GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARPE  QUADRANGLES  53 

Composite  section  of  Pennsylvania  and  Mississippian  rocks  in  the  Goodhope- 
LaHarpe  region — Concluded 

Thickness 

Feet 

Salem    (Spergen)    limestone 

Limestone   and   calcareous   sandstone 6  to     12 

"Warsaw  formation 

Shale  and  limestone 30  to     40 

Keokuk  limestone 

Limestone    and    chert;    only   a    few   feet    exposed    in   the    area; 

normal  thickness    50  to  100 

Burlington  limestone 

Limestone    and    chert 150  to  200 

Of  the  rocks  shown  in  this  section,  the  Burlington  limestone  out- 
crops only  in  the  northern  and  western  portions  of  the  La  Harpe  quad- 
rangle, and  the  Keokuk  limestone  only  at  a  few  points  in  the  western 
portion  of  the  same  quadrangle.  Rocks  of  the  Warsaw,  Salem,  and  St. 
Louis  formations  outcrop  only  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  La 
Harpe  quadrangle.  Rocks  of  the  Pottsville  and  Carbondale  formations 
outcrop  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle  and  at  scattered 
localities  throughout  the  Goodhope  quadrangle, 

STRATA   PENETRATED   IN   DRILLING 

The  strata  penetrated  in  drilling  for  oil  include  those  known  from 
outcrops,  described  above,  and  in  addition  other  strata  of  the  Missis- 
sippian system  and  shales,  limestone,  and  dolomites  of  the  Devonian  and 
Silurian  systems  which  lie  above  the  horizon  of  the  Hoing  sand.  Im- 
mediately below  the  Burlington  limestone  is  a  thick  shale  bed,  known 
as  the  Kinderhook  shale,  which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Mississippian 
system.  It  varies  in  thickness  from  about  85  to  125  feet.  Lying  un- 
conformably  below  it  is  the  Sweetland  Creek  shale  of  Upper  Devonian 
age  which  varies  in  thickness  from  100  to  150  feet.  Below  this  is  a  gray, 
non-magnesian  limestone  of  late  Middle  or  Upper  Devonian  age,  usually 
referred  to  as  the  Devonian  limestone.  It  is  not  always  possible  in 
drilling  to  dstinguish  it  from  the  underlying  Niagaran  limestone,  but  it 
is  known  to  have  a  thickness  of  about  40  to  80  feet  or  more.  Lying 
unconformably  below  the  Devonian  limestone  is  a  porous  dolomite  of 
Silurian  age  usually  referred  to  simply  as  the  Niagaran  dolomite.  A 
few  wells  have  been  drilled  in  which  this  dolomite  proved  to  be  entirely 
missing,  but  it  is  usually  present  in  thicknesses  varying  from  8  or  1 0  feet 
to  80  feet  or  more.  The  Hoing  sand,  when  present,  lies  just  at  the  base 
of  this  dolomite.  Deep  wells  which  may  be  drilled  to  test  the  so-called 
"Trenton  limestone"   ( Galena- Platteville)   will  pass  through  180  to  200 


54 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


rO 


-100 


200 


300 


400 


500 


600 


700 


800 


LEGEND 


g.^—  /o—i 


Drift 


Sand 


Shale 


Limestone 


•  1  •     .  I  . 

.  I".- 

'■  -  y  - 

•  ;  i  1 

['  •■  l  • 

•  [  •  ' 

Sandy  limestone 


900 


1000 


Chert 


Coal 


8: 
1 


fei 

B 


3 

o 

1 


Pleistocene 


Carbondale 


Pottsville 


St.  Louis 


Salem 


Warsaw 


Keokuk 


Burlington 


Kinderhook 


Sweetland  Creek 


Devonian 


e      —  \ 

.A—     — <^ 

0     \  o    ^ 


Niagaran 
Horizon  of  Hoing  Sand 


IE 


^ 


Ei 


is: 


5S 


Maquoketa 


Pig.  15.  Graphic  section  showing  the  succession  of  strata 
underlying  Goodhope  and  LaHarpe  quadrangles. 


GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARPE  QUADRANGLES 


55 


feet  of  shale  below  the  Niagaran.     This  is  the  Maquoketa  shale  of  the 
Ordovician  system. 

The  detailed  succession  of  strata  may  be  understood  best  by  re- 
ferring to  the  accompanying  graphic  section  (fig.  15)  and  the  logs  of 
wells  drilled  in  the  area  which  are  given  below.  Two  of  these  (Strong- 
hurst  and  Bushnell)  are  water  wells  and  the  other  two  were  drilled  in 
search  of  oil. 

Log  of  well  in  the  town  of  Stronghurst  in  the  SE.  14  NW.  *4  NE.  %  sec.  25. 
T.  9  N.,  R.  5  W.,  Henderson  County 

(Interpreted  from  driller's  log  by  T.  E.  Savage) 


Altitude   of   surface— 665    feet 

Thickness     Depth 
Feet  Feet 

Quaternary 

Soil  and  drift 150                 150 

Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian 

Shale,   gray    165                 315 

Devonian  and  Silurian 

Limestone  105                 420 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

Shale    ... 165                 585 

Galena-Platteville 

Limestone,  gray   200                 785 

Limestone,  brown    15                 800 

Limestone,    gray    60                 860 

St.  Peter 

Sandstone     171               1031 

Shale,  white    25               1056 

Prairie  du  Chien 

Limestone,  white   10               1066 

Shale,  white    5               1071 

Limestone,  white   24               1095 

Sandstone,  white    20               1115 

Limestone    50               1165 

Shale    5               1170 

Limestone    105               1275 

Sandstone 5               1280 

Limestone    25               1305 

Cambrian  - 
St.   Croix  or  Potsdam 

Sandstone 296               1601 


56  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Log  of  well  in  the  city  of  Bushnell,  near  the  center  of  sec.  33,  T.  7  N.,  R.  1  W., 

McDonough  County 

(Compiled  from  study  of  drill  cuttings   compared  with   driller's  log) 
Altitude  of  surface — 651  feet 

Thickness     Depth 
Feet  Feet 

Quaternary 

Clay,  yellow,  and  loam,  black 40  40 

Clay,    blue     60  100 

Sand,  water   10  110 

Pennsylvanian 
Pottsville 

1.  Shale,    gray 20(?)  130 

Mississippian    and    Upper    Devonian 

Warsaw 

2.  Shale,    gray — 6(?)  136 

Keokuk-Burlington 

3.  Limestone,  white,  fragments  of  chert  numerous;  frag- 

ment  of   crinoid   stem  noted 50  186 

4.  Same,  with  crystals  of  calcite 66  252 

5.  Limestone,  white  to  light  gray,  cherty,  with  numer- 

ous crinoid  stems  and  crystals  of  calcite 78  320 

6.  Same,  with  rounded  quartz  pebbles  and  basic  igneous 

pebbles  from  the  surface 15  335 

7.  Chert,  white,  with  some  limestone  and  calcite;   crin- 

oid  stem  noted    35  370 

Kinderhook    and    Devonian 

8.  Shale,    blue-green,    fine   texture,    thin    beds,   with    an 

occasional  fragment  of  chert,  pyritiferous 39  409 

9.  Same 31  440 

10.  Shale,    dark    brown,    hard,    thin    bedded,    micaceous, 

highly  bituminous.     When  thoroughly  ignited  will 

burn    170  610 

11.  Shale,  gray-green,  fine  texture,  thin  bedded,  not  cal- 

careous             20  630 

Silurian 
Niagaran 

12.  Limestone,   gray,  very  argillaceous,   soft,    containing 

fragments   of   brachiopod   shells 20  650 

13.  Limestone,   gray,   powdered   by   drill;    slightly   argil- 

laceous          30  680 

14.  Limestone,  with  a  few  fragments  of  gray-green  shale;. 

numerous  crinoid  stems 15  695 

15.  Limestone,  like  the  last  with  some  chert  and   iron 

rust;   fragments  of  brachiopod  shells  noted 15  710 

16.  Dolomite,   straw   colored,    finely   crystalline   with    al- 

most an  equal  amount  of  minute  fragments  of 
white  chert.  Some  steel  gray  shale,  small  crystals 
of  pyrite,  and  an  occasional  quartz  grain  present         15  725 


GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARP E  QUADRANGLES 


57 


Log  of  well  in  the  city  of  Bushnell — Concluded 

Thickness     Depth 
Feet  Feet 

17.  Dolomite,    white,    finely    crystalline,    powdered,    with 

very  fine  fragments  of  white  chert;  few  sand  grains  7  732 

18.  Sand,    white,    dolomitic,    pyritiferous,    sand    gfrains 

slightly  rounded,  clear  quartz,  some  shale  present  8  740 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

19.  Shale,  grayish-green,  fine  texture 7  747 

20.  Shale,  brownish-gray,  with  a  small  amount  of  gray, 

fine  grained,  dolomite    38  785 

21.  Shale,   dark  gray,   fine  grained,   thin   bedded,   arena- 

ceous, with  gray  dolomite 36  821 

22.  Shale  and  dolomite,  like  the  preceding.     This   sam- 

ple was  labeled  by  the  driller  "888  to  892  notice  in 
particular".  There  is  however,  nothing  exceptional 
about  the  sample 71  892 

23.  Sandstone,    gray,    argillaceous,    dolomitic,    very    fine 

grained,  some  pieces  of  chert  and  coal 11  903 

Galena-Platteville 

24.  Dolomite,  dark  straw  color,   fine  grained;    powdered 

by  drill.     Very  little  reaction  with  cold  dilute  acid 

which  becomes  brisk  when  heated 17  920 

25.  Same    63  983 

26.  Same  only  somewhat  lighter  in  color 57  1040 

27.  Same     30  1070 

28.  Same     30  1100 

29.  Dolomite,  light  brown,  fine  grained,  with  some  very 

small  bits  of  dark  shale 40  1140 

St.  Peter 

30.  Sandstone,  white,  with  medium  sized  rounded,  clear, 

quartz  grains.     Cement  dolomitic 160  1300 

31.  Sandstone,    flesh    color,    very    fine    grained.      Cement 

dolomitic    50  1350 

Log  of  Parrish  well  in  NW.  *4  NW.  %  sec.  Sit,  T.  9  N.,  R.  3  W.,  (Ellison  Twp.) 

Warren  County 


Altitude  of  surface — 752  feet 


Quaternary 

Soil  and  clay  (probably  loess) 

Clay,  blue  

Shale  or  clay 

Sand    

Pennsylvanian 
Pottsville 

Shale    


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

25 

25 

10 

35 

5 

40 

2 

42 

28 


70 


58 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


Log  of  Parrish  well — Concluded 

Thickness     Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Sand 4  74 

Shale,  blue    36  110 

Limestone    6  116 

Shale,  blue    46  162 

Limestone 2  164 

Shale    5  169 

Mississippian 
Burlington 

Limestone 20  189 

Shale    2  191 

Limestone    131  322 

Kinderhook 

Shale,    light. . .' 118  440 

Devonian 

Upper  Devonian    (Sweetland  Creek) 

Shale,  brown  to  black 10  450 

Shale,  drab  with  spores  of  Sporangites  huronense  105  555 
Devonian  and  Silurian 

Limestone,  gray,  dolomitic 10  565 

Limestone,    gray,    non-dolomitic 35  600 

Limestone,    dark 20  620 

Dolomite,  gray ..  42  662 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

Shale,  light 12  674 


Log  of  Gochenour  well  near  center  NE.  y±  sec.  3,  T.  6  N.,  B.  5  W.,  (Fountain 
Green   Twp.)   Hancock  County 

(Compiled  from  study  of  drill  cuttings  and  driller's  log) 
Altitude  of  surface— 660   feet 

Thickness     Depth 
Feet  Feet 

Quaternary 

Soil,    clay   and    gravel 30  30 

Mississippian 

St.  Louis,  Salem,  and  Warsaw 

Limestone  and  shale 85  115 

Keokuk  and  Burlington 

Limestone,   leached,   with    chert   fragments 45  160 

Limestone,  white,  crystalline,  with  much  chert 90  250 

Limestone,  white,  crystalline,  with  little  chert 75  325 

Limestone,  with  some  greenish  shale 30  355 

Kinderhook 

Shale,  greenish  to  gray 45  400 

Shale,  greenish  to  gray,  crystalline 80  480 


GOODHOPE  AND  LAHARPE  QUADRANGLES  59 

Log  of  Gochenour  well — Concluded 

Devonian 

Upper  Devonian    (Sweetland  Creek) 

Shale,  greenish,  with  dark  fragments,  the  latter  contain- 
ing numerous  spores  of  Sporangites  liuronense 100  580 

Devonian  and  Silurian 

Dolomite  and  limestone,  gray,  subcrystalline,  with  pyrite         40  620 

Limestone,  gray,  with  chert  fragments,  mostly  fine  grained       110  730 

Dolomite,  gray  to  drab,  with  small  quartz  sand  grains..         15  745 

Ordovician 
Maquoketa 

Shale,  bluish  gray 10  755 

POSSIBLE  OIL-BEARING  HORIZONS 

There  are  four  possible  oil-bearing  horizons  in  the  rocks  under- 
lying the  Goodhope-La  Harpe  region.  These  are,  in  order  of  depth,  the 
Pottsville  sandstone,  the  Niagaran  dolomite  (Silurian),  the  Hoing  sand 
(at  base  of  Niagaran),  and  the  Galena-Platteville  limestone  or  dolomite. 

Large  quantities  of  oil  have  been  produced  from  Pottsville  sand- 
stones in  the  northern  part  of  the  main  oil  fields  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  State.  There,  however,  the  Pottsville  formation  is  thick  and  con- 
tains thick  sandstone  beds  which  are  persistent  over  comparatively  large 
areas.  In  the  Goodhope-La  Harpe  region  thick  sandstones  in  the  Potts- 
ville are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  The  thickest  known  is  that 
which  outcrops  on  Cedar  Creek  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Goodhope 
quadrangle,  where  it  has  a  maximum  thickness  of  about  30  feet.  Thick- 
nesses of  50  to  75  feet  are  reported  in  some  wells,  but  undoubtedly  in- 
clude a  considerable  thickness  of  shale.  There  has  been  no  production  of 
oil  from  the  Pottsville  from  western  Illinois,  but  oil  is  reported  to  have 
been  encountered  in  a  few  wells  drilled  into  it  in  search  for  water.  Mr. 
John  Anderson  states  that  a  well  was  drilled  on  his  farm  near  the  NW. 
corner  SW.  ]/A  sec.  12,  T.  8  N.  R.  2  W.  (Swan  Twp.),  Warren  County, 
in  which  a  thick  black  oil  was  encountered  in  sandstone  at  a  depth  of  75 
or  80  feet  (top  of  sandstone  at  35  feet).  A  quantity  estimated  at  several 
barrels  is  said  to  have  flowed  out  of  the  well,  but  this  was  finally  cased 
off,  and  fresh  water  struck  at  90  feet.  Two  wells  drilled  in  sees.  17  and 
18,  T.  9  N.,  R.  3  W.  (Ellison  Twp.),  Warren  County,  are  said  to  have 
encountered  oil  at  depths  of  120  and  100  feet,  respectively.  However, 
no  considerable  production  of  oil  is  to  be  expected  from  the  Pottsville 
sandstone  in  this  region,  owing  to  its  shallow  depth,  its  small  lateral  ex- 
tent, and  the  fact  that  it  outcrops  at  numerous  places,  both  at  the  surface 
and  under  the  glacial  drift.  Pottsville  rocks  underlie  all  of  the  Good- 
hope  quadrangle  and  approximately  the  eastern  half  of  the  La  Harpe 


60  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

quadrangle,  but  it  is  very  unlikely  that  sandstones  are  present  in  the  Potts- 
ville  under  all  of  this  area. 

The  Niagaran  dolomite  is  very  porous  and  frequently  contains 
small  quantities  of  gas  and  oil,  but  has  never  furnished  oil  in  commercial 
quantities.  Gas  has  been  produced  from  the  Niagaran  in  the  Pike 
County  field  for  many  years,  and  small  amounts  of  heavy,  black  oil  have 
been  reported  in  the  same  area.  Throughout  western  Illinois  gas  is 
frequently  encountered  in  wells  which  penetrate  the  Niagaran.  In  Hen- 
derson County,  in  the  vicinity  of  Media,  gas  and  showings  of  oil  were 
encountered  in  several  wells,  although  no  production  has  been  secured. 
A  rather  unusual  feature  of  these  wells  is  that  the  gas  and  oil  seem  to 
lie  in  the  upper  part  of  the  "second  lime"  ;  that  is,  in  the  Devonian  lime- 
stone, rather  than  the  Niagaran  dolomite.  The  data  are  insufficient  to 
determine  the  horizon  exactly,  however.  Neither  the  Devonian  lime- 
stone nor  the  Niagaran  dolomite  are  considered  so  promising  for  oil  pro- 
duction as  is  the  Hoing  sand. 

The  Hoing  sand  is  not  a  continuous  bed,  but  consists  of  isolated 
lenses  of  a  porous,  white  sandstone  which  occur  at  the  base  of  the 
Niagaran  dolomite,  and  immediately  overlying  the  Maquoketa  shale. 
Prospecting  for  oil  in  this  sand  is  therefore  unusually  hazardous,  since 
the  presence  of  the  sand  can  not  be  predicted  in  advance  of  drilling.  It 
is  probably  absent  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Goodhope-La 
Harpe  area,  and  a  search  for  oil  must  therefore  in  large  part  consist  in 
a  search  for  bodies  of  the  sand.  There  are  only  two  localities  in  which 
the  sand  is  known  to  occur.  One  of  these  is  the  vicinity  of  Bushnell  in 
the  southeastern  portion  of  the  Goodhope  quadrangle.  In  the  new  city 
well  there,  drilled  in  1915  the  driller  reported  about  15  feet  of  sandstone 
at  the  base  of  the  Niagaran  dolomite.  Samples  of  drill  cuttings  from 
the  well  were  examined  by  members  of  the  Survey  staff  and  show  that 
such  a  sandstone  is  present.  The  lower  eight  feet  consists  of  white, 
quartz  sand,  and  the  seven  feet  above  this  contains  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  sand.  The  second  locality  in  which  sand  was  reported  at  the 
base  of  the  Niagaran  is  southeast  of  La  Harpe  in  the  southwestern  por- 
tion of  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle.  Samples  of  the  drill  cuttings  from  a 
well  drilled  on  the  Gochenour  farm  in  the  NE.  %  sec.  3,  T.  6  N.,  R.  5  W. 
(Fountain  Green  Twp.),  Hancock  County,  were  examined  at  the  Sur- 
vey office,  and  it  was  found  that  the  basal  15  feet  of  the  Niagaran 
dolomite  contained  a  considerable  amount  of  quartz  sand  grains.  An- 
other well  was  drilled  on  the  Gills  farm  in  sec.  8,  T.  6  N.,  R.  3  W. 
(Emmet  Twp.),  and  although  no  log  of  the  well  is  available,  Mr.  Gills 
reports  that  about  20  feet  of  sand  was  found  at  the  base  of  the  Niagaran, 


GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARPE  QUADRANGLES  61 

with  a  showing  of  gas.  It  is  impossible  to  state  whether  this  was  a  clean 
quartz  sand,  or  the  ground-up  bits  of  dolomite  which  are  easily  con- 
fused with  the  quartz  sand.  Another  well  in  the  SW.  %  NW.  Ya  sec. 
18,  T.  6  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Macomb  Twp.),  reported  four  feet  of  good  sand 
with  a  showing  of  oil. 

Although  a  well  may  penetrate  to  the  Maquoketa  shale  without 
finding  the  Hoing  sand,  it  does  not  necessarily  discredit  the  territory 
immediately  surrounding  it,  for  the  known  lenses  of  sand  are  small  in 
areal  extent  and  one  of  two  adjoining  wells  may  find  a  good  sand  and 
the  other  miss  it  entirely.  There  are  numerous  instances  of  this  sort 
in  the  Colmar  pool,  where  two  or  more  separate  lenses  occur  cutting 
across  the  Colmar  dome  and  the  Lamoine  terrace.1  Therefore  an  area 
where  the  rock  structure  is  favorable  for  the  accumulation  of  oil  or  gas 
can  not  be  thoroughly  tested  and  condemned  on  the  basis  of  absence  of 
the  sand  in  a  single  well.  Sufficient  drilling  must  be  done  to  demonstrate 
the  general  absence  of  the  sand  throughout  the  favorable  area  before  the 
structure  can  be  said  to  be  fairly  tested. 

There  are  two  possible  oil-producing  horizons  below  the  Hoing 
sand,  but  neither  is  regarded  as  likely  to  be  productive  in  this  region. 
The  first  is  the  Maquoketa  shale,  in  which  showings  of  oil  have  been 
reported  in  western  Illinois.  In  the  Indian  Refining  Company's  well  on 
the  Walker  farm  in  sec.  9,  T.  2  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Buena  Vista  Twp.), 
Schuyler  County,  oil  was  reported  at  a  depth  of  751  feet,  about  74  feet 
below  the  top  of  the  Maquoketa,  and  several  gallons  are  said  to  have 
been  taken  from  the  well.  The  second  horizon  below  the  Hoing  sand 
which  might  prove  productive  is  the  Galena-Platteville  limestone  below 
the  Maquoketa.  This  rock  is  frequently  dolomitic  and  porous,  and 
showings  of  oil  have  been  reported  from  it.  It  occupies  about  the  same 
position  in  the  geological  column  as  the  so-called  "Trenton"  of  south- 
eastern Illinois  from  which  a  small  quantity  of  oil  is  being  produced. 
The  Trenton  limestone  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  has  been  the  source  of  large 
quantities  of  oil.  There  is  no  assurance  that  this  horizon  will  prove  pro- 
ductive in  western  Illinois,  but  an  occasional  well  should  be  drilled 
through  it  where  the  geologic  structure  is  favorable,  in  order  to  test  the 
region  thoroughly.  It  is  the  oldest  known  rock  in  this  area  in  which 
any  oil  may  reasonably  be  expected,  and  since  it  can  be  reached  at  a 
depth  of  not  over  1,000  feet,  testing  should  be  relatively  simple  and 
inexpensive. 


1  Kay,  F.  H.,  and  Morse,  W.  C,  The  Colmar  oil  field:  111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull. 
31,  pp.    42-43. 


62  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

RELATION  OF  ACCUMULATION  TO  FOLDS  IN  THE  OIL- 
BEARING  BED 

Thorough  studies  of  oil  and  gas  occurrence  throughout  the  world 
have  demonstrated  beyond  question  the  importance  of  rock  structure  in 
determining  the  accumulation  of  these  substances.  Although  one  can 
by  no  means  state  that  all  oil  occurs  in  anticlines  or  domes,  previous 
experience  and  careful  studies  of  known  oil  pools  in  Illinois  have  shown 
that  the  proper  conditions  for  accumulation  in  the  area  under  discus- 
sion are  most  likely  to  be  met  with  at  the  crests  of  folds  such  as  anti- 
clines or  domes,  and  that  such  places  should  be  tested  first  in  new  ter- 
ritory. 

There  are  three  principal  conditions  governing  accumulation.  They 
are  as  follows : 

1.  The  presence  of  a  porous  bed,  such  as  a  sandstone  or  cavernous 
limestone  to  serve  as  a  reservoir. 

2.  An  impervious  cover,  such  as  shale  or  other  fine  grained  rock 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  oil  or  gas. 

3.  Folding  in  the  rocks  by  which  are  produced  dips  along  which 
the  oil  and  gas  can  migrate  and  segregate  into  pools. 

The  first  condition  may  be  met  in  this  region  by  any  one  of  the  beds 
described  above  under  the  heading  "Possible  oil-bearing  horizons."  The 
second  is  met  by  the  Maquoketa  shale  lying  above  the  Galena-Platteville 
limestone,  the  Kinderhook  and  Upper  Devonian  shales  above  the 
Niagaran  dolomite  and  the  Hoing  sand,  and  the  Pennsylvanian  shales 
above  the  Pottsville  sandstone.  The  third  condition,  that  of  folding  to 
produce  favorable  geological  structure,  is  met  at  certain  localities,  and 
it  is  the  purpose  of  this  report  to  point  out  the  areas  in  which  favorable 
structures  exist. 

The  accumulation  of  oil  in  a  given  structure  is  to  a  considerable 
degree  dependent  upon  the  presence  and  amount  of  salt  water  in  the 
sand.  The  productive  oil  fields  of  Illinois  are  in  the  main  surrounded 
by  barren  areas  in  which  the  sand  contains  salt  water.  Where  the  sand 
is  saturated,  the  oil  lies  near  the  crest  of  the  anticlines  or  domes,  with 
the  gas,  if  any,  above  it  (fig.  14  A).  Where  the  sand  is  only  partly 
saturated  the  oil  lies  farther  down  the  sides  of  the  folds,  at  the  upper 
surface  of  the  water,  and  the  crests  may  be  dry  (fig.  14  B).  A  rather 
common  mode  of  occurrence  is  on  flattened  terraces  on  the  sides  of  a 
fold  such  as  is  shown  in  figure  14  B.  If  water  is  absent  from  the  sand, 
the  oil  may  occur  in  the  troughs  or  synclines  (fig.  14  C).  This  mode  of 
occurence  is  comparatively  rare  and  prospecting  should  be  confined  to 
the  domes,  anticlines  and  terraces,  unless  it  is  demonstrated  that  the  sands 
contain  no  water. 


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GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARP E  QUADRANGLES  63 

STRUCTURE 

General  Discussion 

The  geologic  structure  of  a  given  area  can  be  determined  best  by  a 
study  of  rock  outcrops  supplemented  by  information  obtained  from  well 
logs.  If  a  definite  bed  outcrops  over  large  areas  and  can  be  readily 
identified  and  traced  from  place  to  place  it  is  a  comparatively  simple 
matter  to  determine  its  altitude  above  sea  level  at  numerous  localities. 
If  the  same  bed  can  be  recognized  in  well  logs,  its  altitude  can  be  obtained 
over  considerable  areas  in  which  it  does  not  outcrop.  In  the  Goodhope- 
La  Harpe  area  No.  2  coal  is  just  such  a  "key"  bed.  Its  altitude  has  been 
determined  at  numerous  points  in  the  area  which  it  underlies  and 
structural  contour  maps  have  been  prepared  by  drawing  lines  through 
points  of  equal  elevation.  (See  Plates  II  and  III,  red  contours.)  If 
it  can  be  assumed  that  the  key  bed  lies  parallel  to  the  oil  sands  several 
hundred  feet  below,  then  the  structure  shown  by  that  bed  can  be  said 
to  represent  faithfully  the  structure  of  the  oil  sands.  However,  this  is 
not  strictly  true  for  the  area  under  consideration,  as  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing discussion. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  State  of  Illinois  occupies  a  large  struct- 
ural basin  or  syncline  with  its  western  border  roughly  parallel  to  the 
Mississippi  River.1  Superimposed  upon  this  large  synclinal  structure 
are  numerous  small  structures  such  as  anticlines,  domes,  terraces,  and 
synclines.  Over  this  large  basin  structural  disturbances  took  place  in  the 
intervals  between  the  deposition  of  successive  formations,  and  the  beds 
now  exposed  at  the  surface  do  not  necessarily  show  structure  parallel  to 
that  of  the  underlying  rocks.  This  is  best  brought  out  by  a  study  of  some 
deeply  buried  bed  or  horizon  which  can  be  recognized  in  well  logs.  In 
the  Goodhope-La  Harpe  area  the  most  satisfactory  horizon  for  this  pur- 
pose is  the  base  of  the  Burlington  limestone.  Accordingly  the  altitude  of 
this  key  horizon  was  determined  wherever  wells  could  be  found  which 
penetrated  deeply  enough,  and  structural  contour  maps  were  constructed 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  coal.  The  only  difference  is  that  the  points 
are  fewer  and  are  more  widely  scattered,  so  that  the  structure  is  neces- 
sarily generalized,  and  small  details  are  not  shown.  This  structure  is 
shown  by  black  contours  on  the  maps  (Plates  II  and  III). 

A  careful  study  of  the  two  sets  of  contours  demonstrates  the  lack  of 
parrallelism  between  the  two  key  horizons.  They  both  have  the  same 
general  direction  of  dip,  namely,  to  the  east  and  south  toward  the  center 
of  the  large  Illinois  basin,  but  the  Burlington  limestone  dips  much  more 


A  Geologic  Map  of  Illinois:  State  Geol.  Survey,  1917. 


64  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

steeply.  At  a  point  near  the  center  of  the  west  edge  of  the  Goodhope 
quadrangle  the  base  of  the  Burlington  limestone  lies  at  an  elevation 
of  about  500  feet,  while  near  the  center  of  the  east  edge  of  the  same 
quadrangle,  12  miles  away,  it  has  an  elevation  of  only  235  feet.  The 
decrease  amounts  to  265  feet,  or  22  feet  per  mile,  while  the  elevation 
of  No.  2  coal  decreases  only  about  87  feet  in  the  same  distance,  or  7% 
feet  per  mile.  In  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle  the  elevation  of  the  base 
of  the  Burlington  limestone  decreases  170  feet  from  the  central  to  the 
southern  portion,  while  the  elevation  of  No.  2  coal  decreases  only  71 
feet  in  the  same  distance. 

The  ideal  key  horizon  to  determine  structure  which  may  be  used  in 
prospecting  for  oil  is  the  upper  surface  of  the  oil  sand  itself.  Lacking 
sufficient  data  concerning  the  sand,  the  next  best  key  horizon  is  that 
approaching  nearest  to  the  oil  sand  in  depth.  In  the  Goodhope-La 
Harpe  area  this  is  the  base  of  the  Burlington  limestone,  and  the  struct- 
ure shown  by  this  horizon  should  be  considered  first  in  selecting  loca- 
tions for  drilling.  This  may  be  supplemented  by  testing  the  structures 
shown  by  the  coal  if  the  divergence  between  the  two  horizons  is  taken 
into  account.  The  effect  of  this  divergence  as  the  depth  increases  is  to 
displace  the  apex  of  the  structure  in  the  direction  in  which  the  interval 
between  the  beds  is  increasing.  Therefore  a  test  well  in  order  to 
strike  the  oil  sand  at  the  apex  of  a  dome  must  not  be  drilled  at  the  apex 
indicated  by  the  coal  structure,  but  to  one  side  or  the  other.  The  proper 
place  to  test  the  structures  shown  by  the  coal  in  this  area  is  pointed 
out  in  the  description  of  individual  structures  which  follows. 

Detailed  Descriptions 

The  principal  structural  feature  shown  by  the  contours  on  the  base 
of  the  Burlington  limestone  is  a  dome  covering  a  large  area  in  the  north 
half  of  the  La  Harpe  Quadrangle.  The  apex  lies  near  Stronghurst, 
where  the  Burlington  rises  to  an  altitude  of  603  feet.  To  the  west  it 
appears  to  have  a  steep  dip  to  an  elevation  of  390  feet,  but  this  is  based 
upon  the  log  of  one  well  in  the  SW.  YA  of  sec.  28,  T.  9  N.,  R.  5  W. 
(Stronghurst  Twp.),  which  passed  through  limestone  from  90  to  250 
feet.  If  this  is  the  Burlington  limestone,  as  the  driller  called  it,  its  base 
lies  at  an  elevation  of  about  390  feet.  To  the  south  of  Stronghurst  the 
limestone  dips  off  fairly  uniformly  to  an  elevation  of  300  feet  south  of 
La  Harpe.  To  the  east  it  has  a  gentle  dip  across  the  La  Harpe  quad- 
rangle, which  becomes  steeper  from  west  to  east  across  the  Goodhope 
quadrangle  and  reaches  a  minimum  elevation  of  235  feet  in  sec.  22, 
T.  8  N.,  R.  1  W.  (Greenbush  Twp.)     To  the  north  of  Stronghurst  the 


GOODHOPE  AND  LAHARPE  QUADRANGLES  65 

dome  is  incompletely  defined.  There  is  a  dip  of  over  50  feet  per  mile 
to  the  northeast  toward  Media. 

There  is  an  area  of  100  to  150  square  miles  lying  on  the  gentle 
east  and  southeast  slope  of  the  dome  in  which  there  have  been  no 
wells  drilled  deep  enough  to  test  out  the  horizon  of  the  Hoing  sand. 
If  the  sand  is  present  in  any  portion  of  this  area  the  geological  conditions 
are  favorable  for  the  accumulation  of  oil,  but  the  presence  or  absence 
of  the  sand  can  be  demonstrated  only  by  drilling.  The  first  tests  should 
be  drilled  well  up  on  the  structure,  within  the  area  bounded  by  the  550- 
foot  contour  line;  that  is,  in  sees.  31  and  32,  T.  9  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Strong- 
hurst  Twp.),  in  sees.  25,  26,  35,  36,  T.  9  N.,  R.  5  W.  (Stronghurst 
Twp.),  and  in  sees.  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  T.  8  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Raritan  Twp.) 
Further  drilling  should  be  extended  to  the  area  included  within  the  500- 
foot  contour  line,  in  which  case  it  would  seem  advisable  to  locate  the 
first  test  in  sec.  33,  T.  8  N.,  R.  3  W.  Good  Hope  quadrangle. 

The  principal  structural  features  brought  out  by  the  contours  on 
No.  2  coal  include  two  small  domes.  West  of  Roseville  in  T.  9  N.,  R.  3  W. 
(Ellison  Twp.),  is  an  incompletely  defined  dome  on  which  the  coal 
rises  to  an  elevation  of  736  feet,  which  is  about  30  feet  higher  than  to 
the  south  and  east.  The  Parrish  well  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 34  was  drilled  down  on  the  flank  of  the  dome  where  the  coal  is 
about  25  feet  lower  than  at  the  apex.  It  failed  to  find  any  Hoing  sand, 
and  it  might  be  said  to  discredit  the  area  in  the  immediate  vicinity  so  far 
as  the  presence  of  the  sand  is  concerned.  It  does  not  discredit  the 
structure,  however,  since  the  distribution  of  the  sand  is  so  erratic. 

A  small  dome  lies  just  east  of  Roseville  in  sections  28,  29,  32,  and 
33.  In  section  28  the  coal  rises  20  feet  higher  than  to  the  west,  30  feet 
higher  than  to  the  south,  and  50  feet  higher  than  to  the  east  and  north. 

A  pronounced  terrace  extends  to  the  south  from  the  above  men- 
tioned dome.  It  covers  portions  of  sees.  9,  10,  15,  16,  19,  20,  21,  30, 
and  36,  T.  8  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Swan  Twp.),  where  the  coal  lies  at  an  ele- 
vation of  about  680  feet,  but  rises  to  693  feet  in  section  10.  To  the 
north  and  west  the  coal  rises  slightly,  to  the  east  it  dips  to  an  elevation 
of  620  feet,  while  to  the  south  it  slopes  of!  very  gently. 

Six  miles  northwest  of  Bushnell  there  is  a  small  dome  in  which  the 
coal  rises  more  than  20  feet  above  the  adjacent  region.  Since  it  is  in- 
completely defined,  no  recommendations  can  be  accurately  made  ;  how- 
ever,, a  test  in  the  southeast  part  of  sec.  16,  T.  7  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Walnut 
the  oil  may  occur  in  the  troughs  or  synclines  (fig.  14  C).  This  mode  of 
Grove  Twp.),  can  be  suggested. 


66  .     OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

In  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  Goodhope  quadrangle  is  a  broad 
terrace  upon  which  No.  2  coal  lies  at  an  elevation  of  about  680  feet. 

LOCALITIES  ALREADY  TESTED 

Five  wells  have  been  drilled  within  the  borders  of  each  of  the  two 
quadrangles  in  search  of  oil  or  gas.  In  the  Goodhope  quadrangle,  the 
most  favorably  located  well,  so  far  as  structue  goes,  was  the  Parrish 
well  in  sec.  34,  T.  9  N.,  R.  3  W.  (Ellison  Twp.)  This  well  failed  to  find 
the  Hoing  sand.  Its  relation  to  structure  is  discussed  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  dome  west  of  Roseville. 

A  well  drilled  on  the  George  Sailor  farm  in  the  NE.  J4  sec.  21, 
T.  8  N.,  R.  1  W.  (Greenbush  Twp.),  is  located  in  a  syncline  and  found 
no  sand. 

A  well  drilled  on  the  Matt  Boden  farm  in  the  NW.  %  sec.  15,  T. 
7  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Walnut  Grove  Twp.),  is  located  upon  the  southern  end 
of  a  gently  sloping  terrace.     It  likewise  found  no  sand. 

Two  wells  were  drilled  on  the  Bruinga  and  Lester  farms  in  sees. 
7  and  18,  T.  6  N.,  R.  2  W.  (Macomb  Twp.)  The  logs  of  these  wells 
are  somewhat  indefinite,  but  it  appears  that  the  well  in  section  18  lies 
on  a  small  dome.  Four  feet  of  sand  was  reported  at  the  base  of  the 
second  lime,  with  a  small  showing  of  oil.  The  well  in  section  7  found 
no  sand. 

In  the  La  Harpe  quadrangle  none  of  the  five  wells  drilled  is  re- 
garded as  being  favorably  located.  No  data  are  available  concerning  the 
well  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Sciota,  except  that  it  was  a 
dry  hole.  Of  the  four  remaining  wells,  two,  the  Herzog  in  the  NE.  J4 
sec.  30,  T.  7  N.,  R.  4  W.  (Blandinsville  Twp.),  and  the  Wilkes  in  the 
SW.  ji  sec.  25,  T.  7  N.,  R.  5  W.  (La  Harpe  Twp.),  found  no  sand  nor 
any  show  of  oil.  Of  the  other  two  the  Gills  in  the  NW.  %  sec.  8,  T.  6 
N.,  R.  5  W.  (Fountain  Green  Twp.),  is  reported  to  have  found  20  feet 
of  sand  with  a  showing  of  gas.  This  information  has  not  been  verified, 
and  no  log  of  the  well  is  available.  The  Gochenour  well  in  the  NE.% 
sec.  3,  T.  6  N.,  R.  5  W.  (Fountain  Green  Twp.),  found  a  showing  of 
sand  at  the  base  of  the  second  lime  but  no  oil  or  gas. 

GAS  IN  THE  GLACIAL  DRIFT 

Small  quantities  of  gas  are  frequently  encountered  in  pockets  of 
sand  in  the  glacial  drift.  In  a  water  well  in  the  SW.  J4  sec-  9,  T.  8  N., 
R.  2  W.  (Swan  Twp.),  gas  rises  in  bubbles  through  the  water  in  such 
quantities   that  when  a   pipe   was   inserted  through   the   well   platform, 


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GOODHOPE  AND  LA  HARPE  QUADRANGLES  67 

the  gas  could  be  ignited  with  a  match  and  burned  freely.  Small  quanti- 
ties of  gas  have  been  reported  in  a  number  of  other  shallow  water  wells. 
In  all  cases  of  this  sort  the  gas  was  probably  derived  from  the  decom- 
position of  vegetable  matter  buried  in  the  glacial  drift  and  no  consider- 
able quantities  are  to  be  expected.  This  gas  has  no  connection  with 
the  accumulation  of  oil  or  gas  in  the  underlying  rock  strata  and  should 
not  be  confused  with  true  oil  seeps  or  gas  escapages  from  solid  rocks. 
It  gives  no  indication  whatever  of  the  presence  of  oil  or  gas  in  the 
deeper  strata. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  GOUNTIES 

By  Horace  Noble   Coryell 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction .  , 70 

Acknowledgments , 71 

Personnel  of  the  party 71 

Topography    of    the    area 71 

Method    of   field   work 72 

Key  horizons 72 

Relation  of  folds  to  accumulation  of  oil 73 

The   Hoing   sand 73 

Structure  of  the  area 74 

Synclines 74 

Anticlines  and  terraces , 74 

Pittsfield-Hadley    anticline 75 

Method  of  study 75 

Description    of   the    structure 81 

Development 82 

The  gas  rock . 83 

Notes  on  wells  in  the  columnar  section  sheet 83 

Structures  favorable  for  testing 84 

Flowing  water  wells 86 

Stratigraphy 86 

General  statement 86 

Unconsolidated   rocks 86 

Alluvium 86 

Loess 86 

Drift 87 

Consolidated  rocks 87 

Generalized  section 87 

Pennsylvanian   system 89 

Carbondale  formation , 89 

Pottsville    formation 91 

Mississippian-Pennsylvanian  unconformity 92 

Mississippian  system 92 

St.    Louis   limestone. 92 

Salem   limestone 93 

Warsaw-Salem  unconformity 93 

Warsaw   formation 93 

Keokuk    limestone 94 

Burlington    limestone 94 

(69) 


70  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

PAGE 

Kinderhook  group 95 

Devonian  system 95 

Upper  Devonian  shale 95 

Silurian   system 95 

Niagaran    limestone , .':.. 95 

Ordovician  system , 95 

Maquoketa    shale 95 

Kimmswick-Plattin    limestone 95 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATES 

IV.     Map  showing  the  structure  of  central  and  northern  Pike  County 72 

V.     Map  showing  the  structure  of  southeastern  Adams  County 74 

VI.     Map  of  the  crest  of  the  Pittsfield-Hadley  anticline  and  colum- 
nar sections  of  the  wells  in  the  area 80 

VII.     Map  of  the  areal  geology  of  central  and  northern  Pike  County 84 

VIII.     Map  of  the  areal  geology  of  southeastern  Adams  County . ...   88 

IX.     (A-A)) 

,DT)Ul  Structure  sections  in  southeastern  Adams  County 1 

(B'BM  I        94 

(c-o)  r*  y 

(T>  D)  (   structure  sections  in  Central  and  Northern  Pike  County.  .1 

FIGURES 

16.  Diagrammatic  illustration  of  conditions  favorable  to  artesian  wells. ...   85 

17.  Diagrammatic    cross-section    showing    the    upper    coal    bed    (key 

horizon  No.  7)  and  Colchester  (No.  2)   coal  (key  horizon  No.  3) 90 

TABLE 
7.     Summary  of  well  data  in  central  Pike  County. 76 

INTRODUCTION 

During  the  summer  of  1918  a  study  of  the  structure  of  the  north- 
ern and  centra!  parts  of  Pike  County  and  the  southeastern  part  of  Adams 
County  was  made  by  the  State  Geological  Survey  in  search  of  new  areas 
favorable  to  the  accumulation  of  oil.  Figure  1  shows  the  area  covered 
by  this  report. 

The  Colmar  oil  field  on  the  north  and  the  Pike  County  gas  field  on 
the  south  suggest  that  the  intermediate  area,  which  has  similar  geolo- 
gical conditions,  may  prove  productive.  The  area  is  partly  covered  by 
this  report,  together  with  the  companion  paper  on  Brown  County,  and 
the  previous  one  for  Schuyler  County.1 

Favorable  structures  for  testing  are  described  in  the  following 
pages,  as  indicated*  m  the  outline,  and  the  uncertainties  resulting  from 
the  irregular  distribution  of  oil-bearing  sands  and  other  conditions  are 
discussed.  A  brief  description  of  the  general  geology  of  the  region  is 
also  presented  in  the  text  and  illustrations. 

1  Morse,  W.  C,  and  Kay,  Fred  H.,  Area  south  of  the  Colmar  oil  field:  111.   State 
Geol.  Survey  Bull.  31,  1915. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES-  71 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

M.  L.  Nebel  was  in  general  supervision  of  the  work  for  the  early 
period,  and  introduced  the  writer  to  the  geology  of  the  region.  Stuart 
Weller  assisted  in  the  identifications  and  correlations  of  the  rocks.  The 
reports  of  oil  investigations  in  western  Illinois  by  other  members  of  the 
Survey  were  consulted  in  the  study  of  the  Hoing  sand.  Messrs.  Jerry 
Mink,  Earl  Harris,  and  Claude  Shinn  kindly  furnished  the  records  of 
numerous  wells  drilled  in  central  Pike  County. 

PERSONNEL  OF  THE  PARTY 

The  party  in  immediate  charge  of  the  writer  included  M.  C.  Win- 
okur,  as  levelman  throughout  the  season,  and  Marvin  Weller  for  a  short 
period  near  the  close.  Others  employed  as  rodmen  for  variable  periods 
were :  Charles  Aiken,  George  F.  Baldwin,  Milton  Chestnut,  Virgil 
Harte,  George  Holmes,  Frank  T.  OrndorrT,  Harry  Ramsey,  Otis  Shake, 
George  Stauffer,  Virgil  Tooley,  H.  E.  Van  Natta,  and  Fred  Wright. 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  AREA 

Plate  IV  is  a  map  of  the  coal  and  gas  fields  in  the  northern  and 
central  parts  of  Pike  County.  This  area  lies  upon  the  divide  between 
the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers.  The  western  part  is  drained  by  Six 
Mile,  Kiser,  and  Hadley  creeks  into  the  Mississippi,  and  the  eastern  part 
by  Bay,  Blue,  and  McGees  creeks  into  the  Illinois.  The  upland  is  hilly, 
except  near  Maysville  and  New  Salem.  The  flood  plains  are  narrow, 
and  are  dissected  in  many  places  by  the  winding  stream  channels.  The 
soil  and  weathered  rock  on  the  slopes  of  the  valleys,  eroded  into  the 
shales  of  the  Pennsylvanian  ("Coal  Measures"),  creeps  and  slumps  rap- 
idly and  covers  the  consolidated  rocks  in  the  beds  of  the  streams.  For- 
tunately, the  coal  (Colchester)  is  exposed  in  numerous  pits  and  banks 
that  have  been  worked  recently. 

Plate  V  is  a  map  of  southeastern  Adams  County.  Only  the  area 
south  of  the  "Base  Line"  was  covered  by  the  geological  survey,  but  in 
order  to  show  the  location  of  the  district  in  reference  to  the  railroads, 
the  map  was  extended  two  miles  farther  north  to  include  Clayton,  Camp 
Point,  and  Coatsburg. 

The  belt  of  level  upland  which  crosses  the  area  near  Beverly  and 
Liberty  forms  the  divide  between  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers. 
The  southwest  slope  is  drained  by  McCraney  Creek  into  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  northeast  slope  by  McGees  Creek  and  its  tributaries  into  the  Illi- 
nois.    The  upland  north  and  northwest  of  Kellerville  is  a  flat  prairie 


72  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

lying  on  the  divide  between  McGees  Creek  and  Bear  Creek  drainage 
systems.  There  are  very  few  exposures  of  the  consolidated  rocks  in 
the  level  areas,  and  only  a  small  number  of  farm  wells  pass  through 
beds  that  can  be  identified  from  the  available  information.  The  study 
of  the  structure  of  the  key  beds  is  approximately  limited  to  the  stream  val- 
leys where  the  contacts  between  the  formations  are  exposed,  and  where 
numerous  wells  and  pits  pass  through  the  coal  bed. 

METHOD  OF  FIELD  WORK 

The  outcrops  of  the  consolidated  rocks  were  studied,  and  those 
that  could  be  identified  were  located  by  pacing  and  compass,  and  described 
with  considerable  detail  in  reference  to  characteristic  features  represented 
on  the  postal  road  map  which  was  used  for  a  base.  The  map  served 
later  to  guide  the  leveling  party. 

The  top  of  the  Colchester  (No.  2)  coal  was  chosen  as  the  principal 
key  horizon  for  the  entire  area,  except  in  the  Pike  County  gas  field, 
where  the  top  of  the  gas  rock  was  used  as  the  datum  plane  (Plate  IV). 
Contours  and  cross-sections  show  the  ''lay"  or  structure  of  the  key  rocks. 
The  structure,  represented  by  contours  on  the  coal,  differs  somewhat 
from  the  structure  of  the  deeper  beds  at  the  horizon  of  the  Hoing  sand 
in  the  Colmar  field,  since  the  St.  Louis,  Salem,  Warsaw,  and  Keokuk, 
which  are  present  in  the  northern  part  of  the  area,  are  absent  in  the 
southern  part  (Plates  VII  and  VIII).  The  lack  of  parallelism  between 
the  coal  and  the  deeper  beds  is  discussed  on  the  later  pages,  but  is  not 
great  enough  to  interfere  seriously  with  conclusions  drawn  from  study 
of  the  "coal  contours".  The  intervals  between  the  coal,  as  the  principal 
key  bed,  and  the  other  formations  upon  which  points  were  located  were 
measured  wherever  possible.  The  elevations  of  these  points  were  re- 
duced or  increased  to  the  elevation  of  the  top  of  the  coal  at  each  point 
by  subtracting  or  adding  the  stratigraphic  distance,  as  determined  in  the 
nearest  measured  section.  The  observed  and  the  computed  elevations  of 
the  top  of  the  coal  were  plotted  on  the  maps  (Plates  IV  and  V).  Con- 
tours were  drawn  through  points  of  equal  elevations  and  show  graphically 
the  downfolds  (synclines)  and  upfolds  (anticlines)  of  the  principal  key 
bed,  which  appears  as  No.  3  in  the  following  list  of  key  horizons. 

KEY  HORIZONS 

The  following  list  gives  the  key  horizons  and  the  stratigraphic  dis- 
tance to  the  top  of  the  Colchester  (or  No.  2)  coal. 

7.  Top  of  the  upper  coal  bed,  75  to  80  feet  above  the  Colchester 
coal. 

G.  Bottom  of  second  nodular  limestone  63  to  72  feet  above  the  Col- 
chester coal. 


72 

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PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  73 

5.  Top  of  the  Productus  and  Chonetes  bed,  10  to  15  feet  above  the 
Colchester  coal. 

4.  Top  of  septarian  concretion  layer,  6  to  8  feet  above  the  Colches- 
ter coal. 

3.     Top  of  the  Colchester  coal  (principal  key  horizon). 

2.  Top  of  the  Salem  limestone,  24  to  57  feet  below  the  Colchester 
coal. 

1.  Top  of  the  gas  rock  293  to  298  feet  below  the  Colchester  coal 
and  used  as  the  key  bed  in  the  area  within  the  stippled  boundary  (Plate 
IV). 

RELATION  OF  FOLDS  TO  ACCUMULATION  OF  OIL 

In  most  of  the  productive  fields  of  Illinois  oil  occurs  in  the  upper 
part  of  anticlines  domes,  and  terraces.  The  localization  of  the  oil  ac- 
cumulations within  these  upfolds  depends  upon  the  extent  of  the  sand 
body  and  the  amount  of  salt  water  present.  Where  the  oil  sand  extends 
over  the  anticline,  and  an  abundance  of  salt  water  exists,  the  oil  and  gas 
occur  in  the  positions  shown  in  figure  14  A.  With  a  less  amount  of  salt 
water  to  buoy  up  the  oil,  the  accumulation  takes  place  farther  down  the 
slope  of  the  anticline,  localizing  in  the  terraces  (figure  14  B).  If  salt 
water  is  absent  and  the  sand  is  not  saturated  with  oil,  the  oil  pools  occur 
in  the  synclines  (figure  14  C). 

In  western  Illinois  the  sand  contains  considerable  quantities  of  salt 
water;  the  domes  and  terraces  are  discovered  by  geologic  work,  but  the 
distribution  of  the  sand  can  not  be  determined  in  advance  of  the  drill. 

THE  HOING  SAND 

Oil  was  discovered  in  1914  near  Colmar  on  the  farm  of  J.  Hoing. 
The  producing  sand  was  described  as  the  Hoing  sand.  Numerous  wells 
were  drilled  in  this  locality,  in  some  of  which  the  sand  is  present  and  in 
others  absent.  The  well  records  show  that  the  Hoing  sand  is  distributed 
in  isolated  lenses  varying  from  a  few  feet  up  to  30  feet  in  thickness,  and 
that  it  lies  between  the  Maquoketa  shale  and  the  "second  lime"  of  the 
drillers.  The  name  has  been  mistakenly  extended  to  include  the  produc- 
ing and  non-producing  sands  in  Schuyler  County  that  lie  immediately 
below  the  "second  lime."  The  variability  in  thickness  and  distribution 
is  probably  due  to  the  limitation  of  deposition  of  the  sand  to  shallow 
disconnected  depressions  in  the  surface  of  the  Maquoketa  shale  and  to 
subsequent  erosion. 

The  shale  beneath  and  the  Niagaran  limestone  above  prevent  the 
migration  of  the  oil  and  gas  from  one  sand  body  to  another.  Each  de- 
posit of  sand  is  a  unit  within  itself,  in  reference  to  the  accumulation  and 


74  •  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

differentiation  of  the  gas,  oil,  and  salt  water.  A  well  on  the  crest  of  an 
anticline  would  test  a  lens  of  the  sand  if  one  were  present,  but  it  would 
not  adequately  test  the  entire  fold.  Wells  drilled  into  lenses  on  terraces 
that  lie  below  the  crest  of  the  anticline  are  known  to  be  productive  in 
the  Colmar  field,  while  the  deposits  of  sand  higher  on  the  fold  yield  only 
salt  water.1 

STRUCTURE  OF  THE  AREA 

The  beds  have  a  general  dip  eastward  which  is  interrupted  by 
numerous  undulations — synclines,  anticlines,  and  terraces. 

Synclines 

In  sec.  28,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.  (Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  V),  is  a  small 
basin  in  which  the  Colchester  coal  is  20  feet  lower  than  in  the  adjacent 
area  and  has  a  thickness  of  8  feet.  Either  this  depression  was  probably 
a  peat  swamp  for  a  longer  time  during  the  Carbondale  epoch  than  the 
surrounding  region,  or  the  accumulation  of  the  plant  material  was  more 
rapid.  The  difference  in  elevation  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  difference  in 
degree  of  compressibility  of  the  thick  plant  deposit  and  the  surrounding 
sediment. 

In  the  small  syncline  in  the  west  half  of  sec.  8,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W. 
(Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  V),  the  thickness  of  the  coal  was  3  feet.  The 
Colchester  coal  was  11  feet  thick  in  a  small  depression  near  the  center 
of  sec.  10,  T.  4  S.,  R.  5.W.  (Hadley  Twp.,  Plate  IV).  Several  years  ago 
it  was  mined  and  used  by  the  Wabash  Railroal. 

Near  the  center  of  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.  (Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  V),  is 
a  large  syncline  (Plate  IX  B-B)  which  would  probably  be  found  to  ex- 
tend to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  township  and  then  northwest  to  Lib- 
erty if  the  structure  were  completely  defined.  The  flowing  well  on  the 
farm  of  Luther  Rice  is  located  in  the  western  part  of  the  syncline,  NW. 
YA  sec.  17,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.,  (Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  V).  In  the  eastern 
half  of  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W.,  (McKee  Twp.,  Plate  V),  is  a  broad  shallow 
syncline  which  has  an  area  of  approximately  nine  square  miles. 

Anticlines  and  Terraces 

In  sees.  3,  4,  5,  6,  9,  10,  11,  14,  and  15,  T.  3  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Beverly 
Twp.,  Plate  V),  is  an  anticline  which  extends  in  a  northeast-southwest 
direction.  The  north  limb  is  slightly  depressed  in  sections  11  and  4.  A 
"nose"  extends  northward   from  section  5  and  develops  into  a  terrace 


1  Morse,   W.    C,    and   Kay,    Fred    H.,    The   Colmar   oil   field — a   restudy :    I'll.    State 
Geol.   Survey  Bull.  31,  p.   43,   1915. 


74 

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PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES-  75 

two  miles  wide,  which  lies  in  sees.  20,  21,  27,  28,  and  29,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5 
W.  (McKee  Twp.)  The  coal  in  the  terrace  is  30  feet  lower  than  on  the 
crest  of  the  anticline.  The  west  and  south  slopes  of  the  anticline  are 
not  completely  defined ;  but  the  information  available  shows  that  the 
coal  dips  at  a  low  angle  into  the  Richfield  syncline  on  the  west,  and  into 
the  narrow  basin  near  Beverly  on  the  south. 

A  narrow  terrace  lies  in  sees.  5,  6,  7,  and  8,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Mc- 
Kee Twp.),  and  sees.  1,  2,  11,  and  12,  T.  2  S.,  R.  6  W.  (Liberty  Twp., 
Plate  V).  It  is  approximately  four  miles  long  and  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  wide.  The  fold  becomes  much  broader  toward  the  west,  and 
may  develop  into  a  more  favorable  structure  for  oil  accumulation  under 
the  drainage  divide  in  Liberty  Township. 

There  are  numerous  small  anticlines  and  terraces  in  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W. 
(Richfield  Township,  Plate  V),  in  which  the  Colchester  coal  rises  only 
10  feet  or  less  above  the  coal  bed  in  the  nearby  region.  They  are  inter- 
esting for  study  but  unimportant  in  relation  to  oil  accumulations. 

North  of  Fish  Hook,  in  sees.  5,  6,  7,  and  8,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fair- 
mount  Twp.,  Plate  IV),  occurs  a  narrow  terrace  in  a  splendid  location 
to  serve  as  a  collecting  area  for  the  long  slope  that  extends  for  several 
miles  into  Brown  County.  It  lies  upon  the  eastern  slope  of  the  anticline 
in  T.  3  S.,  R.  5.W.  (Beverly  Twp.,  Plate  V). 

Two  miles  north  of  Hadley  (Plate  IV)  is  located  an  incompletely 
defined  terrace  which  probably  connects  with  the  terrace  in  sec.  36,  T. 
3  S.,  R.  6  W.   (Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  V). 

Pittsfield-Hadley  Anticline1 
method  of  study 
From  the  owner  of  each  gas  well  were  secured  the  data  given  in 
the  "Summary  of  well  data  of  central  Pike  County",  (Table  7),  and 
from  the  drillers  were  obtained  the  well  logs.  The  top  of  the  gas  rock 
was  chosen  as  the  datum  horizon  upon  which  to  base  the  graphic  repre- 
sentation of  the  structure  of  the  region.  The  surface  elevation  of  each 
well,  as  determined  by  the  leveling  party,  was  reduced  to  the  elevation 
of  the  top  of  the  gas  rock  by  subtracting  the  interval  from  the  surface 
to  the  gas-producing  bed,  as  given  in  the  log.  Since  there  is  an  interval 
between  the  gas  rock  and  the  key  bed  (Colchester  coal)  used  outside  of 
the  gas  area  of  from  293  to  298  feet,  the  contours  near  the  border  of 
the  gas  area,  which  pass  through  elevations  computed  from  the  elevation 
of  the  coal,  will  not  coincide  vertically  at  the  stippled  boundary  with  the 
contours  of  the  coal.  This  is  noticeable  in  sees.  35  and  36,  T.  4  S., 
R.  5  W.  (Hadley  Twp.). 


1  Area  enclosed  by  stippled  boundary,   Plate   IV. 


76 


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PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  81 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  STRUCTURE 

The  results  of  the  work  show  that  in  Derry  and  Pittsneld  townships 
the  strata  are  folded  into  a  conspicuous  anticline.  The  axis  extends 
from  the  SW.  cor.  of  sec.  21,  T.  4  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Hadley  Twp.),  to  the 
SE.  cor.  of  sec.  22,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsneld  Twp.)  The  crest  is 
divided  into  four  separate  dome-like  structures  by  three  saddles,  one 
in  sees.  1  and  2,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry  Twp.),  another  in  sees.  17  and 
18,  and  a  third  in  sees.  17  and  20,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsneld  Twp.). 
The  structure  section  (Plate  IX,  C-C)  shows  three  of  the  domes  and  two 
of  the  synclines  that  lie  upon  the  anticline.  The  crest  of  the  dome  farth- 
est to  the  southeast  is  in  the  SE.  J4  sec-  16  and  NE.  ]/\  sec.  21,  T.  5  S., 
R.  4  W.  (Pittsneld  Twp.).  Two  of  the  strongest  gas  wells  in  the  area  are 
located  on  this  dome.  The  gas  rock  is  667  feet  above  sea  level  in  the  well 
in  section  21  (No.  41  )\  Toward  the  north  the  gas-producing  bed  dips 
220  feet  to  the  mile,  and  to  the  south  100  feet  to  the  mile.  The  eastward 
dip  is  180  feet  for  the  first  mile  and  40  feet  for  the  second.  In  the  wells 
in  the  city  of  Pittsneld,  3  miles  from  the  top  of  the  dome,  the  gas  rock 
is  410  feet  above  sea  level.  One  mile  west  of  the  crest  of  the  dome  the 
gas  rock  lies  in  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  saddles  where  its  elevation  is  596 
feet.  One-fourth  mile  farther  west  in  sees.  17,  18,  and  20,  T.  5  S., 
R.  4  W.  (Pittsneld  Twp.),  the  gas  rock  has  an  elevation  of  614  feet.  The 
crest  of  this  low  dome  lies  in  the  SW.  J4  section  17,  the  SE.  *4  section 
18,  and  the  NW.  Y\  section  20.  The  southwest  dip  is  70  feet  in  the  first 
mile  but  decreases  to  25  feet  in  the  second,  forming  a  terrace  in  section 
25,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry  Twp.),  which  is  less  than  one-half  mile 
wide.  The  only  producing  well  in  the  southern  half  of  Derry  Township 
is  located  on  this  terrace. 

The  gas  sand  in  the  syncline  between  the  dome  in  sec.  17  and  the 
one  in  sec.  7,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsneld  Twp.),  is  555  feet  above  sea 
level.     This  is  55  feet  lower  than  it  is  in  either  dome. 

From  the  crest  of  the  dome  in  the  center  of  section  7,  the  gas  rock 
dips  70  feet  in  the  first  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  30  feet  in  the  second, 
toward  the  north.  The  non-productive  area  is  only  a  mile  from  the  crest 
of  the  dome  in  this  direction.  On  the  south  slope  where  the  dip  is  60 
feet  to  the  mile,  the  productive  area  is  much  broader.  The  dip  of  the 
gas  rock  from  section  7,  toward  the  northwest  along  the  crest  of  the 
anticline,  is  40  feet  to  the  mile.  In  the  center  of  sec.  2,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W. 
(Derry  Twp),  the  elevation  is  557  feet  above  sea  level.  From  the  center 
of  the  NE.  %  sec.  2,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry  Twp.),  to  the  center  of  the 
south  line  of  sec.  35,  T.  4  S.,  R.  5  W.,   (Hadley  Twp.),  the  gas  sand 


1  Well  numbers  refer  to  the  reference  numbers  in  Table   7. 


82  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

rises  31  feet,  but  the  information  is  not  sufficient  to  determine  the  struc- 
ture of  the  dome  in  detail. 

Two  and  one-fourth  miles  west  of  Summer  Hill  is  an  incompletely 
defined  structure  which  is. probably  a  low  dome.  The  gas  sand  in  the 
productive  well  in  sec.  10,  T.  6  S.,  R.  5  W.,  (Atlas  Twp.)  is  only  40  feet 
above  the  lowest  known  elevation  of  the  sand  in  the  syncline  near  New 
Hartford. 

DEVELOPMENT 

Gas  was  first  discovered  in  Pike  County  in  1886,  on  the  farm  of 
Jacob  Irick  (F.  G.  Lewis,  present  owner),  in  sec.  1,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W. 
(Derry  Twp.),  while  drilling  for  water.  The  gas  rock  was  entered  at 
the  depth  of  186  feet.  The  well  (No.  78)  was  cased  and  the  gas  was 
piped  to  the  house,  for  which  it  has  furnished  an  abundant  supply  since 
that  time.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  first  well,  a  second  one  (No. 
79)  drilled  for  water  on  the  same  farm,  "struck"  gas  at  the  depth  of 
168  feet. 

No  further  attempt  was  made  to  develop  the  field  until  1905,  when 
William  Irick  put  down  a  well  (No.  78)  on  his  farm  in  the  SW  ^ 
sec.  1,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5W.  (Derry  Twp.),  and  piped  gas  from  it  to  the  farm 
buildings  for  heat  and  light. 

During  1905  and  1906  two  drillers,  J.  A.  Clark  and  Jerry  Mink, 
were  constantly  employed  by  the  landowners  who  began  to  realize  the 
advantage  of  the  use  of  gas.  Thirty  wells  were  drilled  in  Derry  and 
Pittsfield  townships  by  June,  1906,  six  of  them  dry.  Since  then  develop- 
ments have  progressed  much  more  slowly.  Of  the  few  wells  drilled 
each  summer,  some  furnished  abundant  supplies  of  gas.  By  the  close 
of  the  summer  of  1912,  one  hundred  wells  had  been  drilled,  thirty-nine 
of  which  are  now  non-productive.  The  wells  drilled  since  that  time  were 
oil  tests,  promoted  either  by  a  corporation  or  by  a  group  of  enterprising 
landowners. 

The  initial  pressure  of  the  gas  wells  was  not  taken,  but  in  almost 
every  case  the  supply  was  more  than  was  needed  by  the  owner.  It 
was  noticed  that  the  pressure  was  decreasing  only  when  the  demands 
exceeded  the  supply.  In  1918  only  those  wells  inclosed  by  the  590-foot 
contour  (Plate  IV)  had  sufficient  gas  supply  for  all  seasons  of  the  year. 
They  are  on  the  domes  that  lie  on  the  anticlines.  Between  the  590- foot 
contour  and  the  500-foot  contour  the  supply  of  gas  is  sufficient  only  for 
cooking  and  lights.  A  few  wells  near  the  500-foot  contour  furnish 
enough  gas  for  no  more  than  one  or  two  lights.  The  wells  outside  of  the 
500-foot  contour  are  either  non-productive  or  furnish  such  a  meager 
supply  of  gas  that  they  can  be  used  only  a  few  hours  each  day.  On  the 
southwest  limb  of  the  anticline  in  sec.  24,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry  Twp.^ 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES-  83 

is  a  well  (No.  87)  that  was  productive  until  1917.  It  lies  upon  the  anti- 
cline above  the  520-foot  contour.  Two  wells  in  sec.  13,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W., 
(Derry  Twp.)  are  non-productive  and  lie  between  the  530-foot  and  540- 
foot  contours.  In  sec.  35,  T.  4  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Hadley  Twp.),  the  well 
(No.  9)  shown  on  the  top  of  the  dome  is  non-productive  because  of  de- 
fects in  casing.  The  field  has  been  thoroughly  exploited.  The  produc- 
tive area  is  bounded  on  all  sides  by  dry  wells,  and  it  is  decreasing  in 
size  from  year  to  year  by  failure  of  some  of  the  wells  that  are  near  the 
margin. 

THE   GAS    ROCK 

The  porous  stratum  forming  the  reservoir  for  the  gas  is  a  yellowish- 
brown  dolomite,  probably  belonging  to  the  Niagaran.  Whenever  the 
stratum  was  entered  by  the  drill  at  an  elevation  above  500  feet,  the  well 
initially  furnished  an  adequate  supply  of  gas  for  farm  use.  This  would 
indicate  that  the  porous  bed  is  present  everywhere  upon  the  anticline. 
The  limestone  above  the  gas  rock,  locally  designated  as  the  cap  rock  is 
only  a  few  feet  in  thickness  in  most  of  the  wells,  and  is  overlain  by  the 
Kinderhook  shale,  which  forms  the  impervious  cover  of  the  reservoir. 
The  gas  has  very  little  odor  and  burns  without  smoke,  giving  a  strong, 
bright  flame.  The  following  analysis  is  given  by  Professor  T.  E.  Savage, 
who  made  an  examination  for  the  Geological  Survey  in  1906. 1 

Per  cent 

Carbon  dioxide   (C02) 81 

Oxygen     (02) 3.46 

Marsh    gas    (CH4) 73.81 

Nitrogen    (N)    21.92 

Total 100.00 

NOTES  ON  WELLS  IN  THE  COLUMNAR  SECTION  SHEET    ( PLATE  VI ) 

The  accompanying  areal  map  of  the  crest  of  the  Pittsfield-Hadley 
anticline  gives  the  location  of  twenty-one  wells  which  were  chosen  to 
show  graphically  the  stratigraphic  sequence  of  the  region,  the  thickness 
of  the  formations  and  the  variations  in  the  elevation  of  the  gas  rock  upon 
the  fold. 

No.  58  is  far  down  the  slope  of  the  southeast  end  of  the  anticline. 
The  pressure  was  initially  very  weak,  and  the  well  is  now  abandoned. 

No.  47  furnishes  gas  for  one  light. 

No.  44  is  one  of  the  deepest  wells  in  the  area.  It  was  drilled  18 
feet  into  the  gas  rock. 


1  Savage,  T.  E.,  Pike  County  Gas  Field:  111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull. 
1906. 


84  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Nos.  41  and  27  are  on  top  of  the  dome  in  section  16.  They  have 
furnished  an  abundance  of  gas  since  1906. 

Nos.  60,  26,  31,  32,  and  40  are  on  the  slope  of  the  dome  in  sections 
16,  17,  and  21,  but  are  well  up  on  the  crest  of  the  anticline.  They  supply 
the  farms  on  which  they  are  located  with  sufficient  fuel  for  light  and 
heat. 

No.  33  is  a  good  well,  located  on  a  small  dome  in  section  17.  It 
was  drilled  during  the  spring  of  1906. 

The  pressure  in  No.  24  has  noticeably  decreased.  The  supply  is 
not  sufficient  for  heat  during  the  winter  months.  It  is  located  in  the 
bottom  of  the  saddle  that  crosses  the  anticline  in  sections  17  and  18. 

No.  17  is  76  feet  deep.  It  is  one  of  the  shallowest  and  strongest 
wells  in  the  area.  It  is  located  upon  the  top  of  the  dome  in  section  7 
and  in  the  valley  of  a  branch  of  Kiser  Creek. 

Nos.  16,  19,  and  86  are  good  producing  wells,  located  on  the  slope 
of  the  dome  in  section  7. 

No.   75  is  supplying  gas   for  only  one  light. 

No.  81  has  a  good  pressure  of  gas,  but  it  is  not  being  used. 

No.  9  was  reported  by  Jerry  Mink  to  contain  considerable  gas 
which  was  shut  off  by  a  strong  flow  of  water. 

STRUCTURES  FAVORABLE  FOR  TESTING 
The  anticline  in  the  northern  half  of  T.  3  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Beverly 
Twp.,  Plate  V),  is  new  territory  for  exploration  for  oil.  Locations  favor- 
able for  tests  of  the  structure  are  chosen  with  reference  to  the  structural 
conditions  only.  The  sand  in  Schuyler  County  has  been  shown  to  be  in 
disconnected  lenses,  and  that  characteristic  may  be  true  for  this  area 
A  well  in  the  NE.  yA  sec.  5,  T.  3  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Beverly  Twp.),  would 
test  the  northwest  end  of  the  fold.  The  Hoing  sand,  which  is  the  pro- 
ductive formation  in  the  Colmar  field,  would  be  entered  at  the  depth  of 
550  feet.  To  make  the  test  complete,  the  drill  should  enter  the  Kimms- 
wick-Plattin  limestone  which  lies  approximately  700  feet  below  the  sur- 
fac.  The  succession  of  strata  that  would  be  encountered  is :  Carbondale 
formation  (shale),  Pottsville  formation  (shale  and  sandstone),  Salem 
limestone,  Warsaw  limestone,  Keokuk  limestone,  Burlington  limestone, 
Kinderhook  group  (shale),  Upper  Devonian  shale,  Niagaran  limestone, 
Maquoketa  shale,  and  Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone. 

The  southwest  portion  of  the  fold  can  be  tested  by  drilling  a  well 
in  sec.  10,  T.  3  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Beverly  Twp.),  preferably  in  the  north 
half  of  the  section.  The  depths  to  the  Hoing  sand  horizon  and  the 
Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  would  be  approximately  as  given  in  the 
above  test. 


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PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES 


85 


In  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp.,  Plate  IV),  is  a  narrow  ter- 
race with  a  long  northeast  slope.  Wells  drilled  near  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  8  would  test  the  top  of  the  structure.  The  Hoing 
sand  horizon  would  be  entered  at  the  depth  of  490  feet  and  the  Kimms- 
wick-Plattin  limestone  at  the  depth  of  680  feet.  If  it  is  found  that  the 
sand  at  the  horizon  of  the  Hoing  sand  in  Schuyler '  and  McDonough 
counties  is  in  lenses,  then  other  tests  farther  down  the  dip  of  the  bed 
would  be   recommended. 

The  dome  in  the  center  of  sec.  7,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp., 
Plate  IV),  is  probably  the  best  location  in  the  gas  area.  A  well 
drilled  in  this  area  would  pass  through  the  following  beds  before  the 
Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  is  reached:  Upper  Devonian  shale, 
Niagaran  limestone,  and  Maquoketa  shale.  The  total  depth  of  the  test 
would  be  approximately  260  feet.  The  McSorley  gas  well  (No.  17) 
enters  the  Hoing  sand  horizon  at  the  depth  of  76  feet.  No  sand  was 
reported. 


Fig.  16.  Diagrammatic  illustration  of  conditions  favorable  to  artesian  wells. 

The  dome  in  the  SW.  yA  sec.  17,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp., 
Plate  IV),  would  be  tested  by  a  well  drilled  in  the  south  half  of  the 
quarter  section.  The  succession  of  beds  is  the  same  as  that  above, 
with  the  addition  of  the  Kinderhook  shale,  which  lies  upon  the  Upper 
Devonian  shale.  The  test  would  enter  the  Kimmswick-Plattin  lime- 
stone at  the  depth  of  450   feet. 

The  dome  in  the  NE.  yA  sec.  21,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp.), 
has  probably  been  tested  by  the  deep  well  in  the  NW.  Y\  of  section 
21,  but  since  the  gas  rock  is  30  feet  lower  in  the  test  well  than  on  the 
crest  of  the  dome,  which  is  one-half  mile  east,  it  is  recommended  that 
another  well  be  drilled  in  the  NE.  J4  of  section  21,  in  order  to  test  the 
fold  completely.  The  Kimmswick-Plattin  lies  approximately  400  feet 
below  the  surface. 

The  terrace  extending  southwest  from  the  anticline  in  section  21 
can  be  tested  by  wells  in  the  south  half  of  sec.  19,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Pittsfield  Twp.),  and  sec.  25,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Deny  Twp.)  The 
Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  would  be  entered  at  the  approximate 
depth  of  420   feet. 


86  '  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

FLOWING  WATER  WELLS 
Flowing  water  wells  depend  on  certain  relations  of  rock  structure, 
water  supply,  and  elevation  (fig.  16).  A  flowing  well  is  possible  in 
any  place  underlain  by  a  bed  of  porous  rock  of  considerable  thickness 
beneath  an  impervious  layer,  if  the  porous  bed  outcrops  over  a  rather 
wide  stretch  of  territory  in  a  region  of  higher  elevation  and  adequate 
rainfall.  The  structure  section  (Plate  IX,  A-A)  through  the  basin  in 
which  the  Luther  Rice  flowing  well  is  located,  shows  a  part  of  these 
conditions.  In  this  well  the  Niagaran  limestone  forms  the  porous 
water-bearing  stratum  beneath  the  impervious  Kinderhook  shale.  The 
Niagaran  beds  outcrop  near  Mississippi  River  several  miles  to  the 
southwest,  and  receive  their  supply  of  water  from  the  rains  in  that 
region. 

STRATIGRAPHY 
General  Statement 
The  rocks  of  the  area  consist  of   unconsolidated  and  consolidated 
types.     The  unconsolidated  are  alluvium,  loess,  and  drift ;  the  consoli- 
dated, shales,  sandstones,  coals,  and  limestones. 

Unconsolidated  Rocks 
alluvium 
The  alluvium  occurs  in  stream  valleys.     It  consists  of  glacial  till, 
loess,   and  residual  clay,   reworked  by  running  water.     The   sand  con- 
stituent is  high,  and  the  amount  of  humus  low.     The  thickness  varies 
from  a  few  feet  to  twenty  or  more. 

LOESS 

Covering  the  glacial  drift  in  many  places  is  a  dust-like  deposit 
known  as  loess.  The  similarity  of  its  mineral  composition  to  that  of 
glacial  drift  may  indicate  that  it  is  drift,  reworked  by  water  and  wind. 
The  history  of  its  transformation  into  loess  begins  with  transportation 
of  drift  material  beyond  the  edge  of  the  ice  sheet  by  the  streams  flow- 
ing from  the  glacier,  and  its  deposition  upon  the  flood  plains.  After  the 
retreat  of  the  glacier  the  streams  decreased  in  size,  and  the  flood 
plains  became  dry,  permitting  the  fine  material  to  be  picked  up  by  the 
wind  and  deposited  over  the  uplands.  Its  greatest  thickness  in  this 
area  varies  from  a  few  feet  to  10  feet. 

DRIFT 

The  heterogeneous  deposit  of  clay,  gravel,  and  boulders,  which  lies 
beneath  the  loess  is  known  as  drift  and  belongs  to  the  Illinoian  period 


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PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  87 

of  glaciation.  The  thickness  varies  from  a  few  feet  on  the  upland  to 
30  or  more  feet  in  the  valleys  of  the  pre-Illinoian  land  surface.  It  is 
present  everywhere  in  the  area  except  where  streams  have  removed  it 
and  have  cut  their  valleys  deep  into  the  consolidated  rocks.  The  rock 
fragments  in  the  drift  consist  of  many  kinds  picked  up  by  the  ice  sheet 
from  the  various  deposits  over  which  it  passed. 

In  places  extensive  pockets  of  sand  were  deposited  by  the  melting 
ice  as  in  the  SW.  yA  sec.  29,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp.),  where 
a  sand  lens  has  a  thickness  of  28  feet.  Lenses  of  gravel  outcrop  in 
many  of  the  valley  slopes,  as  in  the  NW.  yA  sec.  27,  T.  1  S.,  R.  6  W. 
(Columbus  Twp.)  Masses  of  coal  are  found  mingled  with  the  clay, 
sand,  and  gravel  of  the  drift,  in  sec.  29,  T.  4  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Griggsville 
Twp.).  The  predominance  of  shale  particles  and  limestone  fragments 
everywhere  in  the  drift  gives  evidence  that  the  major  portion  of  the  de- 
posit has  been  derived  from  the  shales  and  limestones  in  the  adjacent 
region. 

Consolidated  Rocks 
generalized  section 

Key  bed  numbers  refer  to  the  "list  of  Jcey  horizons  given  on  a  previous 

page  Thickness 

Pennsylvania]!  system  Feet        inches 

Carbondale   formation 

37.  Shales,  light  blue,  sandy,  in  layers  varying  in  thick- 
ness from  %  inch  to  2  inches,  and  separated  by 
thin  seams  of  sand.  The  lower  6  to  8  inches  con- 
sists of  black  shale 30 

36.     Coal,  in  lenses   (key  bed  No.  7) 1  4 

35.  Shale;  the  upper  4  feet  is  bluish,  streaked  with 
ferrous  oxide,  and  contains  many  stringers  of 
coal.     The  lower  8  feet  is  blue,   soft  clay  shale         12 

34.     Limestone,    dark    gray,    nodular,    crystalline     (key 

bed  No.   6)    3  6 

33.     Shale,  light  blue,  micaceous,  sandy,  in  thin  beds..         53 

32.  Limestone,  bluish,  shaly,  fossiliferous.  Productus 
and  Chonetes  shells  are  abundant  (key  bed  No. 
5)     3 

31.     Shale,    light   blue,    sandy,    containing    many    small 

nodules  of  limestone 4 

30.  Limestone,  a  band  of  large  septarian  concretions  of 
dense  bluish  limestone,  the  crack  filled  with  cal- 
cite  crystals  (key  bed  No.  4) 3 

29.     Shale,  blue,  sandy,  with  seams  of  pyrite 4 

28.     Shale,   fissile,   black 10 

27.     Coal,  Colchester  (No.  2)    (key  bed  No.  3) 1  6 


88 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


Consolidated  Rocks — Continued 


Thickness 


Feet 


inches 


Pottsville  formation 

26.     Shale,   bluish,    sandy.. 24 

25.     Limestone,  dolomitic,  crystalline,  brown 1 

24.     Shale,  bluish,  sandy,  interbedded  with  thin  beds  of 

sandstone    5 

Mississippian  system 
St.  Louis  limestone 

23.     Limestone,  bluish  gray,  brecciated,  dense 3 

22.     Limestone,  thin  bedded,  gray,  crystalline 1 

21.     Shale,   light   green 

20.     Limestone,  dolomitic,  brown,  crystalline 4 

19.     Shale,  greenish    4 

18.     Limestone,  brecciated,  dense,  bluish 6 

17.     Shale,    green 

16.     Limestone,  bluish  gray,  shaly,  dense 8 

15.     Shale,   light   green 

Salem   limestone 
14.     Limestone,   fossiliferous,   dove   colored,    containing 
numerous   protozoans    (top   of  formation  is  key 

bed  No.   2) 10 

13.     Limestone,    shaly    17 

12.     Limestone,   brown,   dolomitic 14 

Warsaw   formation 

11.     Shale,  soft,  interbedded  with  thin  layers  of  fossilif- 
erous limestone.     Bryozoans  are  abundant 28 

10.     Limestone,  dolomitic,  interbedded  with  shale 21 

Keokuk  limestone 

9.  Limestone,  thinbedded,  interbedded  with  layers  of 
chert  and  shale,  having  a  thickness  varying  from 
1  to  4  inches.  Limestone  contains  many  frag- 
ments of  crinoids  and  bryozoans.     Brachiopods 

are  abundant 24 

Burlington  limestone 

8.  Limestone,  interbedded  with  thin  layers  of  chert. 
The  limestone  contains  abundant  plates  and  seg- 
ments of  crinoids 86 

Kinderhook  group 

7.  Shale,  light  blue,  compact,  with  lenses  of  sand- 
stone and  thin  beds  of  limestone 122 

Devonian  system 

Upper  Devonian  shale 

6.     Shale,  brown,  calcareous 60 

Silurian   system 
Niagaran  limestone 

5.     Limestone,    dolomitic,     gray,     hard,     dense     ("cap 

rock"  of  the  drillers) 14 

4.  Limestone,  porous,  dolomitic  (gas  rock,  key  hori- 
zon   No.    1 )     24 


% 


% 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  89 

Consolidated  Rocks — Concluded 
Ordovician  Thickness 

Maquoketa  shale  Feet        inches 

3.     Shale,  greenish  blue,  with  limestone  beds  near  the 

base    166 

Kimmswick-Plattin   limestone 

2.     Limestone,  dolomitic,  white  and  gray 295 

St.   Peter  sandstone 

1.  Sandstone,  hard,  gray,  and  brown  (Total  thickness 
in  the  area  is  unknown.  Well  No.  113  enters  the 
formation  to  the  depth  of  95  feet  6  inches) 


PENNSYLVANIAN    SYSTEM 
CARBONDALE   FORMATION 

The  Carbondale  formation  includes  all  the  beds  lying  between  the 
top  of  No.  6  coal  and  the  base  of  No.  2  coal.  Only  the  lower  part  of 
the  formation  occurs  in  this  area.  The  upper  beds  were  not  deposited 
or  were  removed  during  the  period  of  erosion  that  followed  the  depo- 
sition of  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  in  western  Illinois,  and  preceded  the 
advance  of  the  Illinoian  ice  sheet.  The  greatest  thickness  of  the  Car- 
bondale formation  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the  area  in  Adams  County 
(Plate  VIII).  In  the  wells  near  Clayton,  it  has  a  thickness  of  150 
feet.  In  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.  (Richfield  Twp.),  it  has  the  average  thick- 
ness of  115  feet.  On  the  north  limb  of  the  Pittsfield-Hadley  anticline 
(Plate  IV)  four  miles  south  of  Baylis,  the  total  thickness  of  the  Car- 
bondale is  only  five  feet. 

The  highest  beds  of  the  formation  in  this  area  are  exposed  in  the 
stream  valleys  near  Columbus  and  Camp  Point,  and  on  the  highest  hills 
in  T.  3  S.,  R.  5  and  6  W.,  (Beverly  and  Richfield  townships,  Plate  VIII), 
for  example  in  the  SW.  %  sec.  27  of  Richfield  Township.  They  consist 
of  light  blue,  sandy  shales  in  layers  varying  in  thickness  from  one-half 
inch  to  two  inches,  and  are  separated  by  thin  seams  of  sand.  Thirty 
feet  is  the  greatest  thickness  exposed  in  a  single  section. 

Beneath  this  shale  and  seventy-five  feet  above  the  base  of  the  Car- 
bondale formation  is  a  bed  of  coal  consisting  of  numerous  small  lenses 
varying  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet  (figure  17)  and 
overlain  by  6  to  8  inches  of  black  shale  similar  to  that  above  Colchester 
(No.  2)  coal.  The  underclay  is  bluish,  streaked  with  yellow,  and  con- 
tains many  thin  seams  of  coal.  Lenses  of  the  coal  bed  in  sees.  10,  14, 
22,  24,  and  25,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.,  have  been  mined  by  stripping.  The 
coal  stratum  has  been  traced  only  in  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W.  (Richfield  Twp.) 

Below  this  lies  a  12-foot  bed  of  soft,  blue,  calcareous  shale.  Near 
the  base  many  small  nodular  masses  of  limestone  occur. 


90 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


The  bed  of  limestone  beneath  the  shale  is  a  brown  nodular  forma- 
tion showing  an  average  thickness  of  three  feet,  and  carrying  a  high 
percentage  of  clay.  The  best  exposures  are  in  sees.  14,  22,  and  24,  T.  2  S., 
R.  6  W.  (Liberty  Twp.,  Plate  VIII),  and  sees.  19  and  31,  T.  2  S., 
R.  5  W.   (McKee  Twp.,  Plate  VIII). 

Near  the  center  of  sec.  31,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W.  (McKee  Twp.,  Plate 
VIII),  is  a  splendid  outcrop  of  the  thick  deposit  of  shale  which  underlies 
the  nodular  limestone.  It  is  a  light-blue,  micaceous,  sandy  shale,  in  lay- 
ers varying  from  a  fraction  of  an  inch  to  4  or  more  inches,  which  are 
separated  by  sandy  seams.  The  formation  weathers  rapidly,  and  talus 
debris  covers  the  bases  of  all  the  bluffs  in  which  it  is  exposed.  The 
maximum  thickness  measured  is  53  feet. 


Fig.  17.  Diagrammatic  cross  section  showing  the  upper  coal  bed  (key  horizon 
No.  7)  in  lenses  at  725  feet  and  Colchester  (No.  2)  coal  (key  horizon 
No.  3)  just  below  650  feet  above  sea  level.  The  location  of  this  sec- 
tion is  shown  as  E-E  on  Plate  VIII. 

A  very  persistent,  impure,  fossiliferous  limestone  lies  beneath  the 
thick  shale  deposit  and  10  to  15  feet  above  the  Colchester  coal.  The 
fossils  are  principally  Productidae  shells.  It  has  a  thickness  of  3  inches  in 
the  section  along  the  stream  in  the  west  half  of  sec.  8,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W. 
(Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  VIII). 

Four  feet  of  light-blue,  sandy  shale  lies  between  the  fossiliferous 
bed  and  the  horizon  of  the  septarian  concretions.  The  shale  contains 
many  small  concretion-like  nodules,  arranged  parallel  to  the  stratification. 

The  septarian  concretions  resemble  crushed  spheres  of  dark-blue 
limestone,  with  the  cracks  formed  by  the  stress  filled  with  crystals  of 
calcite.  They  lie  in  a  band  6  to  8  feet  above  the  top  of  the  Colchester 
coal. 

The  next  7  feet  of  shale  below  the  concretions  is  a  dark-blue,  car- 
bonaceous  deposit,  containing  many  seams  of  pyrite. 

Between  the  bed  of  shale  above  and  the  Colchester  coal  beneath  is  a 
bed  of  black  fissile  shale  with  an  average  thickness  of  10  inches. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  91 

The  Colchester  coal  and  the  black  shale  immediately  above  are  in 
a  few  places  the  only  representatives  of  the  Carbondale  formation,  as  in 
sec.  22,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp.,  Plate  VII).  In  most  of  the 
pits,  banks,  tunnels,  and  exposures  in  the  bluffs  of  the  streams,  the 
thickness  of  the  coal  varies  from  18  to  24  inches.  In  sec:  28,  T.  3  S., 
R.  6  W.  (Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  VIII),  and  sec.  10,  T.  4  S.,  R.  5  W. 
(Hadley  Twp.,  Plate  VII),  the  coal  has  a  thickness  varying  from  8  to  11 
feet. 

POTTSVILLE     FORMATION 

The  Pottsville  formation  underlies  the  Colchester  (No.  2)  coal 
conformably.  Its  thickness  varies  from  30  to  40  feet  in  T.  1  S.,  Rs.  5 
and  6  W.  (Concord  and  Columbus  Twps.,  Plate  VIII),  to  a  few  feet 
in  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Pittsfield  Twp.,  Plate  VII).  The  following  is  a 
section  measured  on  the  bluff  of  a  stream,  in  the  SE.  cor.  NW.  y^  sec. 
5,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.   (Fairmount  Twp.,  Plate  VII). 

Section  of  strata  northwest  of  CTiestline 

Feet        Inches 
Carbondale 

3.  Colchester  coal   1  6 

Pottsville 

2.  Shale,   yellowish,    sandy 4 

1.  Shale,  bluish  green,  sandy , 10 

Base   not   exposed. 

A  section  measured  in  the  NW.  cor.  SE.  }i  NE.  yA  sec.  33,  T.  2  S., 
R.  5  W.   (McKee  Twp.,  Plate  VII),  is  as  follows: 

Section  of  strata  northeast  of  Fair  Weather 

Feet       Inches 
Carbondale 

4.  Colchester   coal    1  2 

Pottsville 

3.  Shale,    bluish     24 

2.  Limestone,  brown 1  3 

1.     Shale,    bluish,   sandy 5  6 

Salem  limestone.     Base  not  exposed. 

The  variation  in  thickness  is  probably  due  to  the  irregularities  of  the 
surface  upon  which  the  Pottsville  was  deposited. 

The  rocks  of  the  Pennsylvanian  system  lie  immediately  beneath  the 
drift  over  78  square  miles  in  the  central  and  northwestern  part  of  the 
area  in  Pike  County,  and  over  almost  all  the  area  in  Adams  County  repre- 
sented by  Plate  VIII,  except  along  the  southwest  border  and  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  larger  streams.  Outliers  of  the  Pennsylvanian  sediments 
lie  upon  the  limbs  of  the  anticline  in  the  gas  area,  between  Pittsfield  and 
Hadley  (Plate  VII). 


92  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

MISSISSIPPIAN-PENNSYLVANIAN  UNCONFORMITY 

After  the  deposition  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  western  Illinois  was 
drained  of  its  sea  and  remained  land  until  the  invasion  of  the  Ste. 
Genevieve  sea,  which  extended  up  the  Mississippi  valley  into  Iowa.  The 
invasions  of  the  Chester  sea  did  not  extend  so  far  north,  and  probably 
did  not  cover  Pike  and  Adams  counties  in  Illinois.  During  the  long 
period  that  intervened  between  the  retreat  of  the  Ste.  Genevieve  sea  and 
the  deposition  of  the  Pottsville  sediments,  the  area  described  in  this 
paper  was  above  the  sea  and  subjected  to  the  agencies  of  erosion.  The 
St.  Genevieve  formation  was  eroded  completely  from  the  area,  and  the 
St.  Louis  and  Salem  formations  were  removed  from  much  of  the  area 
south  of  their  present  boundaries   (Plates  VII  and  VIII). 

MISSISSIPPIAN    SYSTEM 

The  Chester  group  and  the  Ste.  Genevieve  limestone  are  absent. 
The  rocks  of  the  Meramec,  Osage,  and  the  Kinderhook  groups  outcrop 
in  the  area.  The  Meramec.  group  includes  the  Salem  and  St.  Louis  lime- 
stones. The  Osage  group  includes  the  Warsaw  formation,  the  Keokuk 
limestone,  and  the  Burlington  limestone.  No  attempt  was  made  to  dif- 
ferentiate the  members  of  the  Kinderhook  group. 

ST.  LOUIS  LIMESTONE 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  is  the  surface  formation  over  approxi- 
mately 16  square  miles  in  the  valleys  of  McGees,  McCraney,  and  Mill 
creeks  (Plate  VIII).  Along  McGees  Creek  the  formation  disappears 
near  Hazelwood,  and  the  overlying  Pennsylvanian  shale  is  in  contact 
with  the  Salem  limestone  (Plate  IX,  B-B).  In  the  valley  of  McCraney 
Creek  the  St.  Louis  extends  much  farther  south.  The  best  exposures 
of  the  formation  are  along  this  creek  in  sees.  4,  9,  and  17,  T.  3  S.,  R.  6  W. 
(Richfield  Twp.,  Plate  VIII).  The  St.  Louis  is  essentially  a  brecciated, 
bluish-gray  limestone,  very  brittle  and  compact.  The  angular  fragments 
vary  in  size  from  minute  particles  to  masses  several  feet  in  diameter.  Be- 
tween the  strata  of  limestone  are  seams  and  beds  of  greenish  clay.  The 
formation  has  an  average  thickness  of  20  feet  along  McCraney  Creek. 
The  thickness  increases  down  the  dip,  and  from  the  well  of  Russel  Davis 
in  sec.  25,  T.  1  N.,  R.  5  W.  (Clayton  Twp.),  150  feet  of  St.  Louis  is 
reported.  Fossils  are  very  rare  in  the  limestone  layers  except  locally, 
where  numerous  masses  of  Lithostrotion  occur.  Many  of  these  fossils 
were  weathered  out  of  the  limestone  before  the  deposition  of  the  Potts- 
ville and  have  become  imbedded  in  the  base  of  that  formation  as  in  sec. 
5,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W.  (McKee  Twp.,  Plate  VIII). 

The  following  is  a  section  of  the  St.  Louis  measured  from  a  bluff 
near  the  stream  in  the  NW.  cor.  sec.  5,  T.  2  S.,  R.  5  W. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES  93 

Section  of  strata  northwest  of  Hazelwood 

Feet       Inches 
Recent 

11.     Soil    2 

St.  Louis 

10.     Limestone,  bluish  gray,  brecciated,  dense 3 

9.     Limestone,  thin  bedded,  gray,  crystalline 1                     6 

8.     Shale,  light,  green . .                     6 

7.     Limestone,  dolomitic,  brown,  crystalline 4                    6 

6.     Shale,  greenish    4 

5.     Limestone,  bluish,  brecciated,  dense 6 

4.     Shale,    green    . .                       % 

3.     Limestone,  bluish  gray,  shaly,  dense 8 

2.     Shale,   light   green . .                       Y2 

Salem 

1.     Limestone,    dolomitic,    massive,    brown    crystalline. 

Base   covered    5 

SALEM    LIMESTONE 

The  Salem  limestone  lies  unconformably  below  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone. It  outcrops  in  the  valleys  of  McCraney  and  McGees  creeks,  and 
in  the  eastern  part  of  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp.,  Plate  VII). 
It  overlaps  the  Warsaw  and  Keokuk  and  in  central  Pike  County  (Plate 
VII)  lies  upon  the  Burlington  limestone.  The  lower  beds  of  the  Salem 
formation,  which  are  present  in  Brown  and  northern  Pike  counties,  are 
absent  in  the  southern  part  of  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp).  Cen- 
tral Pike  County  was  probably  land  during  the  early  Salem  time. 

Fossils  are  locally  abundant,  consisting  of  numerous  shells  of  proto- 
zoans and  fragments  of  bryozoans. 

The  formation  has  a  thickness  of  41  feet  along  McGees  Creek  and 
decreases  southward,  completely  disappearing  in  the  northeast  part  of 
T.  4  S.,  R.  4  W.  (New  Salem  Twp.,  Plate  VII),  where  the  Pennsylvanian 
shales  lie  upon  the  Burlington  limestone. 

WARSAW-SALEM    UNCONFORMITY 

After  the  deposition  of  the  Warsaw,  there  was  a  prolonged  period 
of  erosion  during  which  the  Warsaw  and  Keokuk  beds  were  probably 
eroded  from  much  of  the  Pike  County  area  (Plate  VII),  leaving  the 
Burlington  limestone  as  a  surface  formation  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Salem  time  (Plate  IX,  D-D).  This  unconformity  is  the  basis  for  the 
division  of  the  Mississippian  limestones  in  this  area  into  the  Osage  and 
Meramec   groups. 

WARSAW    FORMATION 

The  upper  part  of  the  Warsaw  formation  consists  predominantly 
of  soft,  calcareous  shale,   interbedded  with    thin    crystalline    limestone 


94  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

strata.  The  limestones  are  very  fossiliferous,  containing  many  shells 
of  brachiopods  and  remains  of  bryozoan  colonies.  Lioclema  and  Arch- 
imedes are  abundant.  The  lower  part  of  the  Warsaw  formation  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  dolomitic  limestone,  interbedded  with  shales.  The 
limestones  are  compact,  light  gray,  and  contain  only  a  few  fossil  re- 
mains, which  are  mostly  fragments  of  bryozoans. 

This  formation  outcrops  along  McCraney  and  McGees  creeks 
(Plates  VII  and  VIII).  The  contact  between  the  Warsaw  and  Keokuk 
is  not  sharply  defined,  and  the  faunal  characteristics  of  the  two  forma- 
tions are  very  similar.  There  appears  to  be  no  cessation  in  deposition 
and  no  distinct  break  in  the  succession  of  the  life  of  the  two  formations 
to  suggest  an  unconformity.  In  a  section  measured  along  McGees 
Creek,  in  sec.  4,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp.,  Plate  VII),  the 
Warsaw  has  a  thickness  of  49  feet. 

KEOKUK    LIMESTONE 

The  Keokuk  limestone  is  exposed  along  McGees  (Plate  VII)  and 
McCraney  creeks  (Plate  VIII).  It  consists  of  fossiliferous  lime- 
stones and  shales  interbedded  with  layers  of  cherty  limestone.  The 
shaly  layers  are  filled  with  fragments  of  bryozoans.  Brachiopods  and 
crinoids  are  abundant  in  the  limestone  beds.  Echinoconchus  altematus, 
Productus  magnus,  Agaricocrinus  tuberosus,  and  several  genera  of 
Spirifera  were  collected  from  the  exposure  of  the  limestone  in  the  NW. 
34  sec.  4,  T.  3  S.,  R.  4  W.  (Fairmount  Twp.)  The  Keokuk  has  a 
thickness  of  24  feet  in  this  locality. 

BURLINGTON    LIMESTONE 

Burlington  limestone  is  the  surface  formation  near  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  area  in  Adams  County.  (Plate  VIII)  and  over  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  eastern,  southern,  and  western  parts  of  the 
area  in  Pike  County  (Plate  VII).  It  varies  in  thickness  from  6  feet  on 
the  crest  of  the  Pittsfield-Hadley  anticline  to  100  feet  in  the  Sam  Brad- 
shaw  well,  NW.  cor.  NE.  ]/A  sec.  4,  T.  4  S.,  R.  3  W.  (Griggsville  Twp., 
Plate  VII). 

The  formation  consists  of  alternating  beds  of  limestones  and  cherts. 
The  limestones  are  conspicuously  crinoidal,  consisting  almost  entirely 
of  separated  plates  and  column  segments.  Productus  burlingtonensis 
is  present  in  considerable  abundance.  The  cherty  beds  make  up  approx- 
imately fifty  per  cent  of  the  formation.  In  many  of  the  wells  upon  the 
anticline  in  the  gas  area  of  Pike  County,  the  Burlington  limestone  is 
represented  only  by  cherty  layers. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES. 


95 


KINDERHOOK     GROUP 

Shales  and  thinly  bedded  sandstones  of  the  Kinderhook  group  out- 
crop upon  the  anticline  in  central  Pike  County  (Plate  VII).     The  thick- 


JL  , 


[  bnxj 


. 


' 


^^xxv.   waooLj   uj    ucus   ui    wnite   and 

gray  limestone.  The  formation  has  a  thickness  of  295  feet  in  the  well 
(No.  113)  drilled  by  the  Summer  Hill  Light  and  Fuel  Company.  In 
the  outcrops  in  Calhoun  County  the  formation  is  composed  largely  of 
shells.  A  show  of  oil  is  reported  from  these  beds  in  many  parts  of 
Illinois. 


94  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

strata.  The  limestones  are  very  fossiliferous,  containing  many  shells 
of  brachiopods  and  remains  of  bryozoan  colonies.  Lioclema  and  Arch- 
1  ^1"  -■    1  — ~+    ~-P    fl-»f»    "\A/"orcQAAr    -formation    con- 


The   limestones   arc   Lunspimuuoij    wm~^—.,    ___ 

of  separated  plates  and  column  segments.  Pro  ductus  burlingtonensis 
is  present  in  considerable  abundance.  The  cherty  beds  make  up  approx- 
imately fifty  per  cent  of  the  formation.  In  many  of  the  wells  upon  the 
anticline  in  the  gas  area  of  Pike  County,  the  Burlington  limestone  is 
represented  only  by  cherty  layers. 


PARTS  OF  PIKE  AND  ADAMS  COUNTIES-  95 

KINDERHOOK     GROUP 

Shales  and  thinly  bedded  sandstones  of  the  Kinderhook  group  out- 
crop upon  the  anticline  in  central  Pike  County  (Plate  VII).  The  thick- 
ness varies  from  a  few  feet  to  a  maximum  of  122  feet,  observed  in  the 
well  of  Claude  Shinn  in  the  SE.  cor.  sec.  36,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry 
Twp.,  Plate  VII).  The  formation  is  probably  absent  over  the  central 
portion  of  section  7  (Plate  IX,  C-C,  well  No.  17,  and  Plate  VI). 

DEVONIAN    SYSTEM 
UPPER    DEVONIAN     SHALE 

Between  the  Kinderhook  shale  and  the  "second  lime"  occurs  60  feet 
of  dark-brown,  calcareous  shale,  which  is  referred  to  as  the  Upper  De- 
vonian, and  known  in  this  area  only  from  well  records.  Upon  the  basis 
of  the  interpretation  of  the  log  of  the  gas  well  (No.  17,  Plate  VI), 
one-fourth  of  a  mile  west  of  the  center  of  sec.  7,  T.  5  S.,  R.  4  W. 
(Pittsfield  Twp.),  it  is  the  surface  formation  over  a  small  area  in  the 
valley  of  Kiser  Creek.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  define  the  limits 
of  the  outcrop  on  the  map  of  the  areal  geology.     (See  Plate  IX,  C-C.) 

SILURIAN    SYSTEM 
NIAGARAN    LIMESTONE 

Niagaran  limestone  lies  below  the  brown  shale.  Only  a  few  of  the 
wells  pass  through  the  formation  into  the  Maquoketa  shale  beneath. 
The  upper  part  of  the  formation  is  a  white,  hard,  compact,  dolomitic 
limestone,  locally  called  the  "cap  rock ;"  the  lower  portion  is  a  brown 
dolomite  and  contains  the  gas  in  Pike  County.  The  thickness,  as  de- 
termined from  the  oil  test  in  sec.  36,  T.  5  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Derry  Twp.), 
is  38  feet.  The  Hoing  sand,  probably  derived  from  reworked  material, 
is  locally  deposited  upon  the  irregular  surface  of  the  Maquoketa  for- 
mation, and  forms  the  base  of  the  Niagaran. 

ORDOVICIAN    SYSTEM 
MAQUOKETA     SHALE 

In  the  well  (No.  113),  drilled  by  the  Summer  Hill  Light  and  Fuel 
Company  in  sec.  12,  T.  6  S.,  R.  5  W.  (Atlas  Twp.),  166  feet  of  green- 
ish shale  was  encountered  below  the  Niagaran  limestone.  This  shale 
has  been  correlated  with  the  Maquoketa  shale  of  northern  Illinois. 

KIMMSWICK-PLATTIN     LIMESTONE 

The  Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  consists  of  beds  of  white  and 
gray  limestone.  The  formation  has  a  thickness  of  295  feet  in  the  well 
(No.  113)  drilled  by  the  Summer  Hill  Light  and  Fuel  Company.  In 
the  outcrops  in  Calhoun  County  the  formation  is  composed  largely  of 
shells.  A  show  of  oil  is  reported  from  these  beds  in  many  parts  of 
Illinois. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN    WATER    CONTROL    IN  THE 
FLAT  ROCK  POOL,  GRAWFORD  COUNTY 

By  Fred  B.  Tough,  Samuel  H.  Williston  and  T.  E.  Savage 
In  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction 99 

Summary 99 

Purpose    of   the    work 99 

Results  of  corrective  work 101 

Permanency  of  results 101 

Decline   curves 101 

Acknowledgments 104 

Statement  of  problem 104 

Selection  of  Flat  Rock  pool  for  experimental  work 106 

Geology 106 

General   statement 106 

Geologic   section 107 

Quaternary  system 107 

Pennsylvanian  system 107 

Pottsville  formation 110 

Carbondale   formation 110 

McLeansboro  formation 110 

Producing    sands Ill 

The  600-foot  gas  sand Ill 

Structure Ill 

Upper   salt   sand Ill 

Flat  Rock  sand 112 

Structure 113 

Oil   characteristics 114 

Water    characteristics 114 

Investigation  prior  to  recommendation 118 

Peg  model 118 

Graphic    logs 121 

Preliminary    gaging 121 

Method   of  recording   data 124 

Ratio 128 

Recommendations  for  repair  work  on  wells 128 

Gaging  after  repairs 129 

Loss  of  production  incident  to  delay  in  repairs  on  wells 129 

Testing  to  determine  source  of  incoming  water 131 

Use   of  Venetian   red    as    an   indicator 131 

Use  of  packers  as  testing  devices 131 

(97) 


98  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

Outline — Continued 

PAGE 

Methods   of  water   control 131 

Use   of  mud   fluid 131 

The    mud    133 

Methods   of  mudding   wells 134 

Suggestions  with  regard  to  casing 136 

Application  to  repair  problems 137 

Corrosion  of  casing  and  methods  of  prevention 137 

Intermediate  water  and  its  control 138 

Use    of   cement 139 

McDonald  method  of  cementing  bottom  water 140 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  PAGE 

X.     Map  showing  structure  on  the  surface  of  the  600  foot  "gas  sand" 

in  a  portion  of  the  Flat  Rock  pool 110 

XI.     Map  showing  structure  on  the  surface  of  the  Flat  Rock  sand  in  a 

portion  of  the  Flat  Rock  pool 114 

XII.  Map  showing  water  and  oil  production  and  the  water-oil  ratio  of 
wells  in  a  portion  of  the  Flat  Rock  Pool;  the  map  also  shows 
leases 128 

FIGURE 

18.  Diagram  showing  rise  and  decline  of  oil  production  in   Illinois, 

1905-1918    100 

19.  A.     Diagram  showing  the  production  of  oil  and  water  for  Ewing 

well  No.  8,  Selby-Cisler  Producing  Company,  beginning  immed- 
iately alter  cementing 
B.     Diagram  showing  the  production  of  oil  and  water  for  Ewing 
well  No.  8,  same  company,  beginning  immediately  after  packer 
was  set 102 

20.  Photograph  of  a  casing  corroded  by  water  in  the  Flat  rock  pool  105 

21.  Map    showing    contours    on    Beaume    oil    gravities.      The    lighter 

oils  are  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  structure.     (Compare  Plates 

X  and   XL) 115 

22.  Photograph  of  the  peg  model,  used  in  the  field  to  represent  sub-sur- 

face  conditions    119 

23.  A  graphic  log  typical  of  those  used  in  studying  wells  with  sub- 

normal production 120 

24.  Photograph  of  a  single-barrel  gage  setup  used  early  in  the  work..  123 

25.  Diagram  showing  in  detail  the  plan  of  the  single-barrel  gage  in 

a    setup 123 

26.  Photograph  of  the  three-barrel  siphon  gage  setup  in  operation.  .  124 

27.  Diagram  showing  in  detail  the  plan  of  the  three-barrel  siphon  gage 

setup.    The  apparatus  is  shown  on  the  tank  rather  than  beside 

it  as  in  the  photograph    (figure  26)   of  a  similar  setup 125 

28.  Sample  record  sheet  as  used  in  gaging 126 

29.  Lease  sheet  showing  gage  averages 126 

30.  Photograph  of  the  gage  board  devised  for  protection  of  the  records 

while    in    use    on    the    lease 127 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  99 

Illustrations — Concluded 

PAGE 

31.  Diagram  to  show  the  saving  in  casing  accomplished  by  the  use  of 

mud   fluid 132 

32.  Photograph  showing  the  connection  at  the  top  of  the  well  between 

the  discharge  of  the  mud  pump  and  the  casing  in  the  circula- 
tion method.  The  outcoming  mud  fluid  has  been  forced  down 
through  the  casing,  out  its  bottom,  and  is  returning  to  the 
surface,  outside  the  casing 133 

33.  Diagram  showing  the  system  used  in  collecting  mud  for  mudding 

Selby-Cisler  well,  Ewing  No.  6B 135 

34.  Photograph  of  the  mud  sump  taken  from  the  top  of  the  derrick  on 

Selby-Cisler  well,  Ewing  No.  6B 137 

35.  Photograph  of  the  mud  sump  looking  toward  the  derrick.     Trench 

near  the  center  in  which  coarse  material  settles  out;    suction 

and  mixing  pipes  at  the  right  the  former  below  the  latter..  139 

TABLES 

8.  Results    of   corrective   work 103 

9.  Analyses  of  water  from  oil  wells  in  the  Flat  Rock  Pool 116 

10.     Summary  of  recommendations  for  repairs  to  wells 130 

INTRODUCTION 

The  phenomenal  development  of  petroleum  in  the  State  of  Illinois 
between  the  years  1905  and  1910  and  the  subsequent  decline  is  strik- 
ingly shown  in  the  curves  of  figure  18.  It  is  this  alarming  decline  in 
the  amount  of  crude  oil  produced  yearly  that  constitutes  the  most  ser- 
ious problem  confronting  the  oil  industry  of  the  commonwealth.  Be- 
sides the  total  production  of  the  State,  the  curves  included  in  figure  18 
show  the  relative  productivity  of  the  various  pools.  It  will  be  noted 
that  the  total  State  production  for  the  year  1917  was  nearly  4,000,000 
barrels  less  than  the  amount  extracted  from  the  Lawrence  County  pool 
alone  in  the  year  1911,  and.  about  3,000,000  barrels  less  than  the  yield 
from  the  Crawford  County  pool  in  1908. 

SUMMARY 
Purpose  of  the  Work 
The  fundamental  purpose  of  the  present  work  is  to  combat  this 
enormous  decline  of  oil  production  in  Illinois.  Pursuant  to  this  end  it 
was  determined  to  make  an  intensive  study  of  a  small  area  in  one  of 
the  oil  fields  of  the  State,  with  the  hope  that  the  results  attained  might 
encourage  an  extension  of  similar  work  throughout  the  State.  The 
methods  of  gaging  wells  and  of  applying  data  to  the  various  problems 
encountered  are  given  in  considerable  detail,  as  it  is  thought  that  such 
information  might  be  of  use  to  operators  conducting  a  study  of  similar 
problems.     It  is  also  hoped  that  the  State  and  Federal  governments  will 


100 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


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Fig.  18.  Diagram  showing  rise  and  decline  of  oil  production  in  Illinois,  1905- 

1918,  expressed  in  barrels  of  42  gallons. 
A.   Total   for    State.  D.   Clark    Co.    Pool.     G.   Plymouth    Pool. 

B.  Crawford  Co.  Pool.  E.   Sandoval    Pool. 

C.  Lawrence   Co.    Pool.  F.   Carlyle  Pool. 


be  able  to  furnish  necessary  assistance  and  advice  to  operators  in  solv- 
ing their  oil-field  problems. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  101 

Results  of  Corrective  Work 

The  corrective  work  discussed  in  this  bulletin  and  summarized  in 
Table  8,  is  entirely  a  commercial  enterprise,  and  its  practical  value 
therefore  depends  upon  the  calculable  profits  resulting  from  it. 

The  total  increase  in  "settled"  production  for  the  ten  wells  upon 
which  repair  work  was  done  amounted  to  66.5  barrels  a  day,  at  a  repair 
cost  of  $3,975.  In  other  words  this  "settled"  production  was  obtained  at  a 
cost  of  $59.77  per  barrel.  The  average  increase  of  oil  production  per 
well  was  six  barrels  a  day  at  the  end  of  six  months,  and  the  average  water 
decrease  was  TOO  barrels  a  day.  The  average  cost  of  repairs  was  $361  per 
well.  Not  taking  into  consideration  the  saving  shown  by  the  decreased 
water  production,  but  only  the  additional  profit  represented  by  the  six- 
barrel  increase,  the  cost  of  repair  work  was  repaid  in  less  than  a  month's 
time. 

It  will  be  noted  that  repair  work  on  one  well  only  (Ohio  No.  5) 
resulted  in  a  loss  of  oil.  Even  here,  however,  the  decrease  of  water  is  so 
enormous  as  to  partially  compensate  for  the  loss  in  oil,  and  all  or  part 
of  this  loss  may  perhaps  be  regained  by  cleaning  out  the  cement  and 
using  a  smaller  quantity  for  the  next  attempt.  From  Ohio  No.  10  there 
was  no  increase  in  oil,  although  the  water  was  cut  down  considerably. 
From  these  two  wells  only  no  production  gains  were  made.  All  other 
wells  showed  increased  amounts  of  oil  and  decreased  amounts  of  water 
lifted.  From  each  of  six  wells  the  oil  production  was  increased  on  the 
average  more  than  six  barrels  a  day.  Two  of  them  increased  in  pro- 
duction ten  barrels  or  more  per  day,  and  one  increased  twenty  barrels. 
From  five  wells  were  eliminated  more  than  100  barrels  of  water  a  day, 
and  from  one  over  300  barrels  were  shut  ofT  by  the  use  of  cement. 

Permanency  of  Results 
decline  curves 

The  immediate  question  concerning  cementation  and  other  similar 
repairs  is  as  to  their  effective  length  of  life.  In  reference  to  the  proba- 
ble length  of  life  of  the  increase,  frequent  gages  were  taken  on  cor- 
rected wells.  Two  of  the  resultant  curves  on  different  types  of  repair 
work  are  shown  in  figure  19. 

In  an  effort  to  control  lower  water,  well  No.  8  (fig.  19,  A)  was 
cemented  with  some  difficulty  in  the  early  part  of  July.  The  work  was 
not  entirely  satisfactory,  but  production  was  increased  so  that  it  was 
deemed  unwise  to  try  to  correct  it  at  the  time.  When  the  repair  work- 
was  completed  the  production  was  oil,  65  barrels  and  water,  125  barrels, 
which  amounted  to  an  increase  of  550  per  cent  of  oil  and  a  decrease  of 


102 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


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Fig.  19.  A.  Diagram  showing  the  production  of  oil  and  water  for  Ewing  well 
No.  8,  Selby-Cisler  Producing  Company,  beginning  immediately 
after  cementing.  The  production  before  cementing  was:  Oil, 
10  barrels  and  water,  220  barrels. 


B.  Diagram  showing  the  production  of  oil  and  water  for  Ewing  well 
No.  5,  beginning  immediately  after  the  packer  was  set.  -The 
production  before  packing  was:  Oil,  1.6  barrels  and  water  70.0 
barrels. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


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104  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

43  per  cent  of  water.  Twelve  days  later  the  oil  had  dropped  to  35 
barrels  and  water  increased  to  210  barrels.  Both  oil  and  water  then 
declined  slowly  during  the  ensuing  two  months.  The  final  gage  showed 
30  barrels  of  oil  and  184  barrels  of  water. 

In  figure  19  B,  is  shown  a  decline  curve  for  a  well  on  which  the 
problem  was  one  of  upper  water  elimination.  In  contrast  with  the 
cement  curve,  the  water  decreases  sharply  and  then  rises  slowly.  The 
oil  rises  rapidly  at  first  as  the  water  is  eliminated,  and  then  more  slowly. 
It  will  reach  its  maximum  and  then  start  on  the  natural  decline  curve 
of  the  pool. 

After  the  first  acute  adjustment  is  made  the  changes  are  quite 
gradual,  in  both  the  upper  water  and  lower  water  problems,  and  if  the 
work  is  done  carefully  the  beneficial  effects  should  last  some  length  of 
time. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  work  was  started  by  Mr.  Merle  L.  Nebel  and  had  been  carried 
almost  to  completion  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  October,  1918. 

Acknowledgments  are  due  the  Ohio  Oil  Company,  the  Central  Refin- 
ing Company,  the  Selby  and  Cisler  Refining  Company,  James  Pease  and 
Company,  and  the  Indian  Refining  Company  for  their  hearty  cooperation 
in  supplying  necessary  data,  their  assistance  in  the  preliminary  field  study, 
and  their  response  to  recommendations  for  corrective  work. 

Special  acknowledgments  are  made  to  the  Ohio  Oil  Company  for 
necessary  material  used  in  the  work,  to  the  Illinois  Pipe  Line  Company 
for  the  special  equipment  they  supplied,  and  to  the  oil  men  of  the  dis- 
trict  for  their  interest. 

Acknowledgments  are  also  due  the  Illinois  State  Water  Survey  for 
helpful  cooperation  and  for  numerous  analyses.  Mr.  Frank  J.  Madden 
assisted  in  the  gaging  of  wells  and  other  work  in  the  field. 

Great  aid  was  given  by  the  numerous  farm  and  lease  foremen, 
employees,  and  officers  of  the  companies,  especially  Mr.  J.  K.  Kerr,  Mr. 
C.  W.  Baker  and  Mr.  Walter  Lowrie,  Mr.  John  Bell,  Mr.  R.  S.  Blatch- 
ley,  Mr.  Carl  Morrison,  Mr.  Lawrence  Myers,  Mr.  W.  J.  Hurd,  and  Mr. 
Charles  Karnes.  The  work  was  a  cooperative  one,  and  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  assistance  they  rendered  is  made. 

STATEMENT  OF  PROBLEM 

One  of  the  most  widespread  and  troublesome  problems  affecting 
production  throughout   the   State  is  the   great  amount   of   water  being 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


105 


pumped  to  the  surface  along  with  the  oil  in  the  process  of  recovery.  The 
water  is  separated  from  the  oil  by  gravity.  The  methods  of  pumping 
and  preparing  oil  for  the  market  have  been  covered  by  Blatchley.1  It 
is  usually  necessary  to  steam  the  oil  before  the  water  will  settle  out 
sufficiently  to  render  the  product  acceptable  to  the  pipe-line  companies. 


Fig.  20.  Photograph  of  a  casing  corroded  by  water  in  the 
Flat  Rock  Pool. 


Pumping  large  amounts  of  water  with  the  oil  is  subject  to  the  follow- 
ing economical  disadvantages : 

1.     Power  is  wasted  in  lifting  the  water  to  the  surface. 

While  it  can  not  be  said  that  the  power  cost  would  vary  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  fluid  handled,  nevertheless  if  the  water 
content  were  eliminated  it  is  certain  the  cost  of  production  would  be 
materially    decreased. 


1  Blatchley,    Raymond    S.,    The   oil    fields    of   Crawford    and    Lawrence    counties: 
111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  22,  p.  159,  1913. 


106  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

2.  Corrosion  of  casing  (fig.  20),  rods,  and  lease  piping  occasions 
considerable  expense  of  replacing  such  equipment  which  could  be 
avoided  if  the  amount  of  water  were  reduced. 

3.  The  production  of  a  well  is  often  greatly  reduced  by  ingress  of 
water. 

The  exclusion  of  water  from  oil  and  gas  productive  strata  was 
therefore  undertaken  as  the  first  step  in  retarding  the  decline  of  oil 
production.  This  phase  of  the  subject  is  dealt  with  exclusively  in  the 
present  report. 

SELECTION    OF   FLAT   ROCK   POOL   FOR   EXPERIMENTAL 

WORK 

Several  reasons  combined  to  determine  the  selection  of  the  Flat 
Rock  pool.  It  presents  a  comparatively  well-defined  area  and  can 
therefore  be  considered  as  a  unit  free  from  the  more  complicated 
factors  that  might  have  developed  in  considering  a  like  area  of  one  of 
the  larger  pools.  Also  much  trouble  has  been  occasioned  in  this  pool 
by  the  infiltration  of  highly  corrosive  waters,  both  top  and  bottom,  into 
the  wells.  In  fact,  the  water  troubles  in  this  pool  are  found  so  pro- 
nounced that  any  demonstration  work  accomplished  in  it  should  be 
highly  convincing  as  to  its  effectiveness.  A  portion  of  the  Flat  Rock 
pool  embracing  approximately  300  acres,  in  sec.  31,  Honey  Creek  Town- 
ship (T.  6  N.,  R.  11  W.),  was  selected  for  intensive  study.  As  shown 
on  the  map,  Plate  XII,  the  properties  involved  were  under  lease  to 
four  companies,  as  follows : 

Central    Refining    Company — 12    producing   wells. 

James  Pease  Company — 9  producing  wells. 

Ohio  Oil  Company — 13  producing  wells. 

Selby  and  Cisler  Producing  Company — 15  producing  wells. 

GEOLOGY1 
General  Statement 
The  Flat  Rock  oil  pool  lies  adjacent  to  the  town  of  Flat  Rock,  in 
the  southeast  part  of  Crawford  County,  ten  miles  southeast  of  Robin- 
son, the  county  seat.  From  Flat  Rock  it  extends  towards  the  northeast 
for  a  distance  of  five  and  one-half  miles,  including  the  small  production 
in  new  territory  at  the  northeast  end.  The  area  comprises  all,  or  parts, 
of  sections  1,  G,  30,  31,  and  36  in  Honey  Creek  Township,  and  sections  20, 
21,  22,  29,  and  32  in  Montgomery  Township.  The  pool  is  very  irregular 
in  shape,  fingering  out  in  several  places,  especially  in  the  northeast  part 


By  T.   E.   Savage. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  107 

of  the  area.     Its  greatest  width  does  not  exceed  three-fourths  of  a  mile, 
and  in  some  places  it  is  considerably  less  than  that  figure. 

The  pool  is  separated  by  barren  territory  from  the  Robinson  and 
New  Hebron  pools  in  the  north,  from  the  Chapman  and  Parker  pools 
on  the  southwest,  and  from  the  Birds  pool  on  the  south.  The  produc- 
ing area  lies  on  the  east  slope  of  the  La  Salle  anticline,  but  its  long  axis 
extends  in  a  direction  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  trend  of  the  main 
La  Salle  arch.  During  1918  there  were  about  200  active  wells  in  this 
area,  which  had  an  average  daily  production  of  about  ?>T/2  barrels. 
When  the  pool  was  first  opened  in  1910,  productions  of  100  barrels  per 
day  were  not  uncommon.  Within  one  or  two  years  after  the  wells  were 
drilled,  the  production  declined  rapidly  to  near  the  present  figures,  and 
since  that  time  the  decrease  has  been  very  gradual. 

Geologic   Section 

The  rocks  exposed  in  this  area,  or  penetrated  in  deep  drillings, 
consist  of  a  mantle  of  unconsolidated  materials  composed  of  glacial  till, 
loess,  alluvium,  and  wind-blown  sand  belonging  to  the  Quaternary 
series,  overlying  hard  rock  strata  of  Pennsylvanian  age. 

QUATERNARY    SYSTEM 

The  glacial  till  in  the  Flat  Rock  area  varies  in  thickness  from  a  few 
inches  to  20  or  30  feet,  the  average  being  about  18  feet.  It  is  of  Illi- 
noian  age ;  it  is  bluish  when  fresh,  but  weathers  to  a  yellow  or  brown. 
As  elsewhere,  this  till  is  somewhat  sandy,  consisting  of  unsorted  clay, 
sand,   pebbles,   and  boulders. 

The  loess  is  a  fine-grained,  wind-blown  silt  which  forms  a  sheeted 
deposit  over  almost  the  entire  region,  being  thickest  in  the  valleys,  and 
thinner  over  the  slopes  and  uplands.  The  alluvium  consists  of  water- 
laid  sand  and  clay,  or  mixtures  of  these,  which  in  the  larger  stream  val- 
leys of  the  region  have  a  thickness  of  50  to  100  feet. 

PENNSYLVANIAN    SYSTEM 

Below  the  unconsolidated  surface  material  the  drill  has  penetrated 
Pennsylvanian  strata  to  a  depth  of  900  or  more  feet,  without  reaching 
the  base  of  the  system.  These  consist  largely  of  shale  and  sandstones, 
or  more  commonly  of  mixtures  of  these,  with  thin  beds  of  limestone  and 
coal.  They  represent  the  McLeansboro,  Carbondale,  and  Pottsville 
formations,  the  latter  containing  the  Robinson  sand,  which  furnishes  the 
oil  and  gas  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool. 


108  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

A  generalized  section  of   the   Pennsylvanian  rocks   in  this   area   is 
given  below: 

Table  of  Pennsylvanian  rocks  in  the  Flat  Rock  Pool 

McLeansboro  formation  Includes  all  of  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  above  the  Her- 
rin  (No.  6)  coal;  consisting  of  shales  and  sandstones 
and  thin  beds  of  limestone  and  coal.  Thickness  450  to 
500  feet. 

Carbondale  formation  Includes  the  strata  between  the  top  of  the  Herrin  (No. 
6)  coal  and  the  bottom  of  the  Murphysboro  (No.  2) 
coal;  comprising  shales,  sandstones,  thin  limestones, 
and  important  coal  beds.     Thickness  300  to  400  feet. 

Pottsville  formation  Includes   all    of   the   Pennsylvanian   rocks   below   the 

Murphysboro  (No.  2)  coal;  consisting  dominantly  of 
sandstones,  with  gray  and  black  shales,  and  a  few  thin 
coals.  Thickness  in  adjacent  areas  500  feet,  not  en- 
tirely penetrated  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool. 

The  following  detailed  log  of  the  Selby  and  Cisler  well  No.  6,  on 
the  W.  E.  Ewing  farm,  near  the  center  of  the  Flat  Rock  pool,  will  show 
more  definitely  the  character  and  succession  of  the  strata  penetrated  by 
the  wells  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool.  This  log  was  compiled  from  a  study 
of  the  samples  of  drillings  and  from  the  driller's  log,  and  is  a  repre- 
sentative record  of  the  wells  in  this  area. 

Log  of  Well  No.  6  on  Ewing  Farm,  section  31,  Honey  Creek  Township 

Thickness     Depth 
Pleistocene  and  Recent  Feet  Feet 

1.  Till  and  loess,  yellowish  brown  with  small  pebbles         23  23 

2.  Clay,  hard  2  25 

3.  Clay  and  sand,  yellowish  gray,   calcareous;    fresh 

water  8  33 

4.  Clay,   yellow  bluish   brown,   and   gray,    calcareous, 

with  small  pebbles 5  38 

Pennsylvanian 

McLeansboro    formation 

5.  Sandstone,  gray,  hard,  shaly,  calcareous 7  45 

6.  Shale,  dark  blue  and  gray,  sandy,  calcareous 20  65 

7.  Shale,  black,  hard,  calcareous 2  67 

8.  Shale,  black   35  102 

9.  Coal;  some  gas  on  top 6  108 

10.  Sandstone,  white  to  gray,  fine  grained,  shaly 4  112 

11.  Limestone,    gray    33  145 

12.  Limestone,  black   7  152 

13.  Limestone,  blue  and  gray,  granular 5  157 

14.  Shale,  gray,  sandy,  calcareous 30  187 

15.  Shale,  gray  and  dark 23  210 

16.  Shale,  gray,  calcareous 25  235 

17.  Shale,  brown  15  250 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


109 


Log  of  well  No.  6  on  Ewing  farm — Concluded 

Thickness 
Feet 

18.  Sandstone,    gray,    fine    grained,    with    some    shale 

(some    water)     60 

19.  Limestone,  gray,  and  shale  with  some  sand 10 

20.  Shale,  blue    10 

21.  Sandstone,  gray,  fine  grained,  with  salt  water....  40 

22.  Shale,  gray,  hard 20 

23.  Shale,  gray  to  dark  brown,  sandy 20 

24.  Shale,  light  gray 10 

25.  Shale,  gray  to  brown 5 

26.  Limestone,   light   gray,    shaly   and    sandy 5 

27.  Sandstone,  fine  grained,  calcareous 10 

28.  Sandstone,  dark,  with  some  shale  and  limestone..  45 

29.  Shale,  gray  to  dark,  with  some  sand  and  limestone  3 

Carbondale  formation 

30.  Coal  (Herrin,  No.  6  ?) 5 

31.  Shale,   sandy,   gray,   fine   grained :.  32 

32.  Limestone,  gray,  with  some  shale 15 

33.  Shale,  dark  gray,  hard 35 

34.  Shale,  gray  and  dark,  soft 10 

35.  Shale,  gray  and  dark,  hard 30 

36.  Sandstone,  yellowish,  fine  grained,  calcareous   (600- 

foot  "gas  sand" ) 20 

37.  Sandstone,  gray  to  white,  fine  grained,  water  bear- 

ing   10 

38.  Shale,  gray 30 

39.  Shale,    black     20 

40.  Shale,  gray,  with  sandstone,  fine  grained 15 

41.  Coal     Little 

42.  Shale,  light  gray 40 

43.  Shale,  gray  to  dark  grayish  brown 35 

44.  Shale,  dark  gray  to  brown,  hard 1 

45.  Shale,  blue  gray,  calcareous,  with  some  fine  sand..  12 

46.  Shale,  gray  and  dark,  with  coal 2 

Pottsville  formation 

47.  Shale,  blue,  with  gray,  fine-grained  sand 70 

48.  Sandstone,  dark  gray  to  blue,  shaly,  calcareous,  fine 

grained 23 

49.  Top  of  oil  sand 

50.  Bottom  of  upper  streak 

51.  Sandstone,  gray,  fine  grained iy2 

52.  Sandstone,  yellowish  gray,  fine  grained  (oil  pay) .  .  8 

53.  Sandstone,  gray,  fine  grained  (water  sand) 5 

54.  Shale,  blue    1 

55.  Sandstone,   gray   fine   grained,    with   a   few    larger 

grains   (water  sand) 10 


Depth 
Feet 

310 
320 
330 
370 
390 
410 
420 
425 
430 
440 
485 
488 

493 
525 
540 
575 

585 
615 

635 

645 
675 
695 
710 

750 
785 
786 
798 
800 


870 

893 

905i/2 

909% 

911 

919 

924 

925 


935 


110  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


TOTTSVILLE    FORMATION 


The  Pottsville,  which  is  the  lowest  formation  of  the  Pennsylvania!! 
system,  has  not  been  entirely  penetrated  by  the  deep  wells  in  the  Flat  Rock 
pool.  From  the  logs  of  wells  in  adjacent  territory  to  the  west  and  south, 
this  formation  is  known  to  have  a  total  thickness  of  550  to  575  feet. 
The  rocks  consist  chiefly  of  rather  massive  sandstones,  which  merge  into 
sandy  shales  in  the  upper  part.  A  few  thin  coals  are  present  at  different 
levels. 

The  stray  gas  sands  that  are  found  in  this  area  are  thought  to  occur 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  Pottsville  formation.  The  Robinson  sand,  which 
furnishes  the  oil  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool,  lies  about  100  feet  below  the 
top  of  the  Pottsville.  Below  the  Robinson  sand  the  sandstones  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  formation  are  usually  filled  with  water. 

CARBONDALE    FORMATION 

The  rocks  of  the  Carbondale  formation,  like  those  of  the  overlying 
McLeansboro,  are  dominantly  sandy  shales,  but  they  also  include  beds 
of  micaceous  sandstone,  thin  limestone,  and  important  coal  beds.  The 
most  prominent  members  of  the  formation  are  the  Herrin  (No.  6)  coal 
at  the  top,  the  Flarrisburg  or  Springfield  (No.  5)  coal  50  to  60  feet 
below  the  Herrin  bed,  and  the  Murphysboro  (No.  2)  coal  at  the  base. 
The  so-called  "gas  sand"  occurs  near  the  middle  of  the  formation.  The 
total  thickness  of  the  Carbondale  strata  in  this  area  is  about  350  feet. 

MCLEANSBORO    FORMATION 

A  thickness  of  40  feet  in  the  upper  part  of  the  McLeansboro  forma- 
tion is  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  Flat  Rock.  These  strata  consist  of 
15  to  18  feet  of  yellowish-gray,  rather  thick-bedded,  micaceous  sandstone, 
often  with  a  conglomerate  1  to  2  feet  thick  at  the  base,  below  which  is 
a  marked  unconformity.  In  places  this  sandstone  is  underlain  by  bluish- 
gray  shale  which  is  in  places  obliquely  jointed,  and  has  a  thickness  of 
12  to  14  feet.  In  other  places  in  this  vicinity  the  shale  bed  had  been 
entirely  cut  out  by  erosion  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  conglomerate. 
Underlying  the  shale  horizon  is  a  gray,  coarsely  granular  limestone, 
2  to  5  feet  thick,  which  is  usually  separated  from  an  18-inch  coal  bed 
by  1  to  3  feet  of  dark  shale.  Below  this  coal  the  deep  wells  usually 
penetrate  gray  and  bluish  or  dark  sandy  shales  interbedded  with  gray 
sandstones,  shaly  sandstones,  and  carbonaceous  shale.  In  the  lower  part 
of  the  formation  there  occur  with  the  shale  and  sandstone  an  occasional 
band  of  limestone  and  thin  coal.  The  exposures  of  McLeansboro  strata 
in  this  area  show  a  number  of  low  undulations,  but  in  general  they 
lie  almost  horizontal  over  the  entire  area.  The  total  thickness  of  the 
formation  in  this  region  is  450  to  500  feet. 


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WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  111 

The  Producing  Sands 

the  600-foot  "gas  sand" 

Near  the  middle  part  of  the  Carbondale  formation  is  a  sand  that 
usually  contains  more  or  less  gas,  and  is  known  locally  as  the  600- foot 
"gas  sand".  It  varies  greatly  in  thickness  from  place  to  place,  a  range 
from  almost  nothing  up  to  50  feet  having  been  reported  in  different  wells. 
This  sand  has  a  characteristic  yellowish-brown  appearance  and  oily  feel. 

STRUCTURE   OF  THE   SAND 

A  structure  map  of  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  in  this  area,  shown  by 
contours  drawn  on  the  top  of  the  "gas  sand"  (Plate  X),  appears  to 
indicate  that  the  places  where  the  sand  is  highest  are  in  the  southwest  part 
of  the  pool,  from  which  the  surface  of  the  sand  declines  rapidly  in  a 
northeast  direction  toward  the  Hope  and  Tohill  farms  of  the  Ohio  Oil 
Company  leases.  Consistent  with  this  structure  the  gas  supply  is  some- 
what greater  in  the  higher,  southern  parts  of  the  pool  than  farther  north 
in  the  area.  The  gas  from  this  sand  furnishes  the  greater  part  of 
the  fuel  used  in  pumping  the  oil  in  the  entire  Flat  Rock  pool. 

When  the  first  wells  were  put  down  in  this  pool,  the  pressure  of 
the  gas  was  excessive,  and  difficult  to  control.  Wells  were  often  permitted 
to  blow  for  days,  and  in  some  cases  for  an  indefinite  time,  before  any 
effort  was  made  to  stop  the  flow  of  gas.  Even  when  the  wells  were 
plugged  in  accordance  with  legal  requirements,  the  waste  of  gas  was  not 
prevented,  as  the  sand  and  steel  balls  were  not  sufficient  to  stop  the  flow. 

UPPER  SALT  SAND 

The  "Upper  salt  sand",  also  known  as  the  "600-foot  salt  sand",  is 
a  slightly  consolidated,  water-bearing  sandstone,  occurring  immediately 
below  the  "gas  sand"  and  present  over  the  entire  area  of  the  Flat  Rock 
pool.  The  sand  grains  are  commonly  clean  and  white,  containing  some 
brownish  feldspar,  but  the  material  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  brown 
"gas  sand"  that  lies  above  it.  The  water  that  causes  the  corrosion  of  the 
pipes  and  casings  in  this  field  comes  from  the  "upper  salt  sand". 
The  thickness  of  this  sand  ranges  from  20  or  30  to  60  or  more  feet,  being- 
greatest  where  the  overlying  "gas  sand"  is  thin,  and  thin  where  the  lat- 
ter sand  is  thicker.  The  drillers  usually  report  no  break  or  parting  be- 
tween the  "gas  sand"  and  the  "upper  salt  sand".  However,  by  careful 
watching  during  the  drilling  of  this  part  of  the  section  in  the  Ewing  6B 
well,  a  thickness  of  3  to  6  inches  of  hard  shell  parting  was  noted  im- 
mediately above  the  water  sand.  It  is  possible  that  such  a  thin  parting 
separates  these  sands  in  other  parts  of  the  Flat  Rock  pool.     This  im- 


112  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

pervious  parting  between  the  sand  horizons  doubtless  would  account  for 
the  fact  that  water  from  the  wells  that  do  not  reach  the  bottom  of  the 
shallow  "gas  sand"  is  seldom  actively  corrosive,  while  the  water  from  the 
oil  wells  that  penetrate  the  underlying  "upper  salt  sand"  causes  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  by  its  corrosive  action  in  the  casing.  This  highly  mineral- 
ized water  from  the  "upper  salt  sand"  attacks  the  well  casings  so 
rapidly  that  near  the  middle  of  the  pool,  where  the  trouble  is  greatest, 
the  life  of  the  casings  may  not  be  longer  than  18  months  to  2  years. 
It  has  destroyed  an  immense  amount  of  casing  and  will  ultimately 
cause  the  abandonment  of  the  field  before  the  complete  drainage  of  the 
oil  pool  unless  preventive  steps  are  taken. 

FLAT  ROCK   SAND 

Practically  all  of  the  oil  production  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool  comes  from 
what  is  known  in  this  area  as  the  Flat  Rock  sand,  the  equivalent  of  the 
Robinson  sand  farther  north  and  west.  In  this  pool  the  sand  is  yellow- 
ish-gray and  rather  fine  grained,  and  lies  about  900  to  1,000  feet  below 
the  surface,  the  differences  in  depth  being  largely  due  to  the  relatively 
rapid  thinning  and  thickening  of  this  bed.  The  larger  part  of  the  oil 
comes  from  a  depth  of  925  to  950  feet.  This  sand  appears  not  to  be 
continuous  over  the  entire  Crawford  County  oil  field,  but  occurs  as  dis- 
connected lenses  of  different  sizes,  shapes,  and  thicknesses  irregularly 
spread  over  the  region  at  a  fairly  well-defined  horizon.  It  is  most  con- 
spicuously irregular  in  the  northeast  and  the  southwest  portions  of  the 
Flat  Rock  pool.  In  the  Montgomery  Township  area  the  sand  occurs  in 
three  lenses  each  of  which  contains  oil,  but  only  the  lowest  furnishes 
paying  production. 

The  upper  surface  of  the  sand  seems  to  present  a  succession  of 
ridges  and  depressions  which  in  general  extend  parallel  with  the  long  axis 
of  the  pool.  The  ridges  and  several  of  the  depressions  are  shown  on 
the  structure  map,  Plate  XI.  It  is  significant  that  the  strongest  well  in 
the  Flat  Rock  pool  is  located  on  one  of  these  ridges.  This  is  the  Selby 
and  Cisler  well  No.  8  on  the  Ewing  farm. 

The  pay  portion  of  the  Flat  Rock  sand  is  usually  immediately  under- 
lain by  water  and  is  commonly  only  3  or  4  feet  thick.  However,  the  logs 
of  some  of  the  wells,  notably  those  on  the  central  Tohill  farm,  indicate  a 
thickness  of  70  feet  for  this  sand.  In  some  of  the  wells  located  over 
depressions  in  the  sand,  the  drill  passed  into  the  water  sand  without 
encountering  any  oil  pay. 

The  salt  water  that  is  present  immediately  beneath  the  oil  pay, 
from  which  it  is  not  separated  by  a  parting  of  any  kind,  was  evidently 
instrumental  in  the   collection  of  the  oil,   and  it  rises   higher   into  the 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  113 

oil  sand  as  the  oil  is  exhausted  from  above  it.  When  the  pool  was  first 
drilled,  the  head  was  so  strong  in  some  of  the  wells  that  the  water  rose 
and  flowed  out  over  the  top. 

In  drilling  wells  at  present  the  greatest  care  is  necessary  not  to 
penetrate  so  near  to  the  water  sand  that  the  shot  of  nitroglycerine  will 
break  into  this  sand  and  flood  the  well  with  more  water  than  the  pumps 
can  handle.  In  such  an  event  the  only  remedy  is  the  use  of  cement  to 
close  up  the  pores  and  cracks  in  the  water  sand,  and  so  shut  off  the 
flow  of  water,  a  solution  only  slightly  less  corrosive  than  that  from 
the  "upper  salt  sand".  This  method  of  control  of  the  lower  water  is 
eminently  successful  in  all  cases  where  it  has  been  used  with  proper  pre- 
cautions in  the  process  of  cementation. 

STRUCTURE 

It  may  be  seen  from  the  structure  map  on  which  the  contours  are 
drawn  on  the  Flat  Rock  sand  (Plate  XI)  that  this  sand  appears  to  be 
lenticular,  the  lenses  extending  in  long  narrow  belts  having  a  general 
northeast-southwest  trend.  The  slope  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  ridges 
is  rather  regular  and  gradual,  while  on  the  northwest  side  the  sand 
fingers  out  in  irregular,  lobate  extensions.  The  depression  contours  on 
the  west  side  also  appear  markedly  different  from  those  in  the  east  side. 

Mr.  Rich1  has  suggested  that  in  the  Flat  Rock  pool  the  oil-bearing 
sands  may  be  a  part  of  a  great  delta  formation  in  which  are  combined 
river-channel  deposits,  shore  or  barrier  beaches,  thrown  up  by  waves  in 
front  of  a  delta,  and  wave-worked  sand  spread  out  upon  the  adjacent 
ocean  bottom.  By  this  explanation  the  Flat  Rock  sand  would  appear  to 
represent  off-shore  or  barrier  beaches  built  up  by  the  waves  along  a  delta 
front.  The  trend  of  the  axes  of  the  minor  ridges  and  depressions,  parallel 
with  the  long  axis  of  the  pool,  is  consistent  with  this  explanation.  The 
gradual  slope  on  the  east  and  the  minor  depressions  on  the  west  are  also 
in  harmony  with  such  an  explanation.  The  more  or  less  irregular  char- 
acter of  the  contours  on  the  west,  while  those  on  the  east  are  confined 
to  larger  curves,  can  also  be  explained  on  the  assumption  of  an  irregular 
lens  of  sand.  In  the  Flat  Rock  pool  as  a  whole  the  top  of  the  Robinson 
sand  lies  from  30  to  50  feet  higher  than  the  level  of  this  sand  in  adjacent 
areas,  a  feature  which  was  due  in  part  at  least  to  deformation.  The 
character  of  the  surface  with  its  parallel  ridges  and  its  fingering  lenses 
is  such  as  to  indicate  that  these  local  irregularities  of  the  sand  are  due 
to  its  mode  of  deposition,  rather  than  to  deformation  after  the  material 
was  deposited. 


irRich,   John   L.,   Oil   and   gas   in  the   Birds   quadrangle.    111.    State   Geol.    Survey 
Bull.  33,   p.   137,   1916. 


114  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

OIL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  oil  from  the  Flat  Rock  pool  has  rather  high  specific  gravity 
and  sulphur  content,  although  the  variation  is  considerable  even  in  the 
small  area  under  consideration.  One  well,  No.  12  on  the  L.  N.  Tohill 
farm,  sec.  31,  Honey  Creek  Township,  shows  a  gravity  as  low  as  30.5° 
Beaume,  while  well  No.  27  on  the  W.  E.  Ewing,  section  31,  E.  Honey 
Creek  Township,  has  a  gravity  as  high  as  18.4°.  A  few  scattered  samp- 
lings determined  the  fact  that  there  was  considerable  variation,  and  the 
work  was  continued  to  bring  to  light  any  regularity,  if  such  did  occur. 

A  sample  was  taken  from  every  well  and  carefully  warmed  and  the 
gravities  taken.  When  these  were  plotted,  so  marked  appeared  the  tend- 
ency for  the  lighter  oils  to  find  their  way  to  the  center  of  the  pool 
that  a  contour  map  was  based  on  the  gravities  alone  (fig.  21).  This 
map  showed  that  the  lighter  oils  were  restricted  almost  entirely  to  the 
center  of  the  pool,  though  the  heavier  oils  would  occasionally  be  found 
there  also. 

There  are  two  possible  explanations  for  the  occurrence1 :  First,  the 
lighter  oils  may  have  migrated  bodily  to  the  upper  portions  of  the  pool. 
This  is  unlikely  since  petroleum  is  a  solution  of  different  constituents 
mutually  dissolved,  and  solutions  will  not  separate  gravitatively.  Second, 
through  change  of  temperature  or  pressure,  the  gaseous  hydrocarbons 
may  have  been  released  from  the  oil  and  migrated  as  gas  along  the  top 
of  the  sand  and  reabsorbed.  The  action  would  not  be  uniform  and 
would  be  incomplete,  but  the  tendency  would  be  to  move  the  gases  to- 
ward the  higher  portion  of  the  pool.  If  this  is  the  case,  the  difference 
is  due  only  to  the  presence  of  more  dissolved  gases  in  the  center  of  the 
pool  than  upon  its  flanks.  This  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the  wells 
that  produce  "lively"  oil  are  mostly  found  in  the  central  portion. 

The  only  certain  test  would  be  a  chemical  analysis  to  see  if  the 
difference  was  a  major  one,  involving  the  constituents  of  the  heavier 
oils,  or  a  minor  one  affecting  only  the  gaseous  part  of  the  series. 

WATER  CHARACTERISTICS 

The  corrosive  waters  of  the  Flat  Rock  pool  are  of  two  varieties, 
the  upper  water  is  the  more  active  of  the  two,  and  it  differs  essen- 
tially from  that  of  the  lower  sand. 

Analyses  were  made  of  the  waters,  both  in  the  laboratory  and  field 
by  the  Illinois  Water  Survey,  as  shown  in  Table  9.  The  upper  water  is 
high  in  chlorides,  sodium,  potassium,  calcium,  and  magnesium.  The 
lower  water  is  high  in  sulphates  and  lower  in  the  alkali  and  alkaline 


1  Rich,    J.    Li.,    Oil    and   gas    in  Birds    quadrangle:    111.    State    Geol.    Survey    Bull. 
33,  p.   139,   1916. 


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Fig.  21.  Map  showing  contours  on  Beaume  oil  gravities.     The  lighter  oils  are  in 
the  higher  parts  of  the  structure.     (Compare  Plates  X  and  XI.) 

earth  chlorides.    The  total  of  dissolved  salts  in  the  upper  water  is  almost 
twice  that  in  the  lower.     The  hydrogen  sulphide  content  is  similar. 

The  chemical  reaction  is  somewhat  complicated1,  and  research  work 
has  not  as  yet  been  completed.  The  iron  is  dissolved  in  a  somewhat 
complex  reaction  and  precipitated  as  a  sulphide.  It  is  carried  in  sus- 
pension to  the  water-receiving  tanks  and  there  deposited. 

*  Unpublished    report   on   corrosive   reactions    by   W.    F.    Monfort    of   111.   Water 
Survey. 


116 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


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WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


117 


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H8  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

INVESTIGATION   PRIOR   TO   RECOMMENDATION 

The  work  done  in  the  pool  depended  largely  upon  the  well  logs  and 
well  histories  that  were  obtained  in  the  preliminary  investigation  of  the 
pool.  In  gathering  well  statistics  the  past  history  of  the  well  and  its 
present  condition  were  considered  of  the  utmost  importance  for  upon 
these  things  the  recommendations  depended.  Almost  without  exception 
skeleton  logs  only  were  obtainable,  showing  the  top  and  thicknesses  of 
the  oil  pays  and  occasionally  the  locations  of  the  upper  water  and  gas 
sands.  Mistakes  were  found,  and  allowances  had  to  be  made  for  er- 
rors and  non-uniformity  of  methods  of  measuring,  since  some  drillers 
measure  to  the  top  of  the  sand  whether  dry  or  not,  while  others  meas- 
ure to  the  top  of  the  oil-producing  horizon  only. 

The  majority  of  the  records  were  collected  in  19131  and  required 
only  occasional  checking.  The  logs  of  the  more  recently  drilled  wells 
and  some  that  had  been  previously  overlooked  were  collected  from  the 
producing   companies   and   drillers. 

In  addition  to  the  actual  logs,  the  knowledge  of  the  field  superin- 
tendents, foremen,  and  pumpers,  concerning  history  and  present  con- 
dition of  the  well,  was  incorporated  in  the  well  log.  This  included  the 
condition  of  casing,  age,  and  if  possible  the  weight,  in  addition  to  in- 
formation as  to  casing  replacements,  inside  strings,  and  tubing  packers. 
If  packers  had  been  set,  either  on  tubing  or  on  a  second  water  string, 
their  kind,  size,  and  depth  of  seat  were  of  importance.  This  information 
was  found  invaluable  when  the  recommendations  for  corrective  work 
were  made. 

The  elevations  of  the  wells  were  run  with  plane  table  and  alidade 
from  primary  traverse  between  United  States  Geological  Survey  bench 
marks.  The  elevations  were  taken  to  the  nearest  foot  only.  The  ele- 
vations of  the  sands  were  then  reduced  to  a  datum  plane  1,000  feet  be- 
low sea  level.  It  was  from  these  figures  that  the  structure  maps  on  the 
oil  and  gas  sands  and  the  peg-model  sections  and  graphic  logs  were 
made. 

Peg  Model 
Before  actual  work  in  the  field  was  begun,  a  peg  model  of  the  pool 
was  constructed.  The  model  was  made  to  scale,  150  feet  to  the  inch 
both  vertically  and  horizontally,  to  prevent  exaggeration  of  the  field 
structure.  Upon  this  model  all  drill  holes,  gas  or  oil,  dry,  abandoned, 
or  producing,  were  located.  The  logs  of  the  wells  were  next  painted 
on  dowels  which  were  then  set  into  the  base  map  up  to  the  level  of  the 


1  Blatchley,   R.  S.,  The  oil  fields  of  Crawford  and  Lawrence  counties:   111.   State 
Geol.   Survey   Bull.    22,    1913. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


119 


datum  plane.     This  left  the  tops   of  the  log  sticks  conforming  to  the 
topography  of  the  area. 

The  model  was  finally  completed  by  connecting  the  different  sands 
with  mats  of  colored  strings.  Two  upper  water  sands,  a  gas  sand,  an 
oil  sand  with   from  one  to  three  pays,  and  a  lower  water  sand,  were 


Fig.  22.  Photograph  of  the  peg  model,  use  in  the  field  to  represent  sub-surface 

conditions 


shown  up  at  fairly  constant  levels  (fig.  22).  The  area  was  marked  by  a 
structure  convex  upward,  sloping  gently  away  from  the  producing  pool, 
both  in  the  oil  and  upper  water  sand,  although  the  data  for  the  latter 
were  lacking  at  the  most  interesting  points. 


120 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


ILLINOIS  OIL  RECORDS 
Crawford   Co.  Ohio  Oil  Co.  Lease 

Honey  Creek   Twp.  L.  N.  Tohil   Farm 

Sec.  30-31  Well   No.  4 


Production   bbls.  Water     Oil     Ratio 

May   1918  459      6.9      66.5 

After  completion  320      16.0    11.3 


510 


500 


Contractor    E.  P.  Brown  &  Co. 
March  30,  1910 

Attempted  to  cement  in  1912 
but  failed-(J.  K.  Kerr  7/6/18) 


15Q1 


61  of  10  casing 
425' of  8  1/4 "casing 


750'  omitted 


3501 


-400' 


875'  of  6  1/4  casing 


906'  top  of  upper  sand 


910  bottom  of  upper  sand 
922'  top  of  lower  sand 


936'  bottom  of  well 
Shot  with  40  qts.  from   934' to  926  1/2' 

Recommendation 
Clean  out  and  cement  three  feet 


Fig.  23.  A  graphic  log  typical  of  those  used 
in  studying  wells  with  sub-normal 
production. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  121 

The  model  was  built  to  give  an  exact  picture  of  the  actual  subsur- 
face conditions  of  the  pool,  to  show  any  discrepancies  of  casing  of  wells, 
or  of  total  depth.  In  addition,  it  served  as  a  means  of  explaining  to 
practical  oil  men  what  the  sand  would  actually  look  like  if  they  could 
see  it. 

Graphic  Logs 

After  all  obtainable  data  on  the  wells  of  the  pool  had  been  collected, 
and  after  the  preliminary  gaging  had  been  completed,  all  wells  with  sub- 
normal production  were  graphically  logged,  as  this  was  the  most  efficient 
way  of  grouping  all  different  characteristics  and  possibilities.  They 
showed  (fig.  23)  the  elevation  of  the  top  of  the  well,  the  depth  at  which 
each  string  wTas  set,  the  presence  or  absence  of  outer  strings,  and  the 
date  they  were  pulled,  if  ever.  They  showed  the  depth,  thickness,  and 
relative  productivity  of  each  pay  sand,  and  the  amount  of  break  between 
them,  the  gaged  production  in  both  oil  and  water,  and  the  date  of  gaging. 
They  also  showed  where  possible  the  names  of  the  contractors  and  of 
the  drillers  who  had  actually  done  the  work  on  the  wells,  and  in  addition 
the  kind  of  remedial  work  done,  such  as  cementing  or  casing  repairs. 

With  the  material  assembled  in  this  manner,  the  recommendations 
for  corrective  work  were  more  easily  understood,  and  the  reasons  for 
them  more  clear. 

Preliminary  Gaging 

The  whole  work  in  the  pool  depended  upon  the  accurate  gaging  of  the 
oil  and  water  production  of  each  individual  well.  Since  nothing  exactly 
similar  had  been  attempted  in  this  line  before,  there  was  more  or  less 
evolution  in  the  methods  used  during  the  procedure  of  the  work. 

The  gaging  outfits  changed  progressively  throughout  the  whole  work, 
as  the  need  arose  and  the  chances  for  improvement  showed  themselves. 
At  first  all  the  gaging  was  done  in  50-gallon  oil  barrels  or  in  small 
five-gallon  kegs  or  cans  (figs.  24  and  25).  These  were  all  strapped  before 
they  were  used  (gallons  per  inch  of  vertical  distance  computed  and 
checked),  so  that  inches  or  feet  in  the  barrel  could  be  computed  in  gal- 
lons of  fluid.  This  was  found  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  water  gages, 
but  invariably  the  oil  gages  were  too  high,  sometimes  as  much  as  50  per 
cent. 

The  setup  that  produced  the  best  results  was  a  three-barrel  arrange- 
ment patterned  after  the  present  water-separating  system  used  in  the  dis- 
trict (figs.  26  and  27).  A  receiving  barrel  was  used  with  two  outlets, 
the  lower  one  connected  by  a  siphon  pipe  with  the  water  barrel,  and 
the   other,  nearer  the  top  of  the  barrel  connected   with  the   oil  barrel. 


122  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

The  former  outlet  is  generally  iy2  or  2  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  latter 
\y2  inches.  Both  have  stop-cocks  to  control  the  flow  of  fluid  and  so 
keep  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  oil  and  the  water  at  a  con- 
stant position  near  the  middle  of  the  barrel.  The  water  barrel  has  a  2- 
inch  outlet  and  stop  in  the  extreme  bottom.  It  is  necessary  to  have  the 
outlet  of  the  water  barrel  of  large  size  to  prevent  overflow  of  the  separa- 
tor system  while  the  water  barrel  is  draining.  The  outlet  of  the  oil 
barrel  is  also  placed  in  the  lowest  portion  of  the  barrel  to  permit  com- 
plete drainage  of  the  oil  from  that  barrel.  This  should  also  be  \y2  inches, 
as  the  oil  runs  rather  slowly  in  cold  weather,  and  in  some  cases  the  oil 
may  fill  the  separator  and  flow  out  of  the  water  siphon  into  the  water 
barrel  before  the  oil  gage  is  completely  emptied,  if  the  outlet  is  small. 

When  the  three-barrel  siphon  is  put  in  use  the  fluid  from  the  well 
is  turned  into  the  separator  barrel  and  the  time  taken  accurately.  With 
both  outlets  closed,  the  fluid  is  allowed  to  fill  the  barrel  and  the  time 
is  taken.  The  water  siphon  outlet  is  then  opened  and  the  water  barrel 
filled.  The  siphon  is  closed,  the  water  outlet  opened,  and  the  water 
allowed  to  flow  back  into  the  lease  receiving  tank.  The  water  outlet  is 
closed,  the  siphon  opened,  and  the  water  started  running  for  the  second 
barrel  of  water.  When  the  oil  becomes  four  or  five  inches  deep  on  top  of 
the  salt  water  in  the  separator  barrel,  the  upper  oil  outlet  in  that  barrel 
is  opened,  and  the  oil  allowed  to  run  over  into  the  oil  barrel,  always, 
however,  keeping  one  or  two  inches  of  oil  in  the  separator  barrel  and 
closing  the  oil  outlet  while  the  siphon  is  closed,  or  the  water  rising  in  the 
barrel  will  carry  the  oil  level  above  the  level  of  the  oil  outlet  and 
allow  water  to  be  carried  over  with  the  oil  into  the  oil  barrel.  When  the 
oil  barrel  is  completely  filled,  the  lower  cock  should  be  opened  a  little, 
and  any  water  which  has  been  carried  over  with  the  oil  should  be  drained 
off  and  the  barrel  refilled.  In  cold  weather  when  the  oil  does  not  run 
freely,  a  steam  coil  in  the  oil  barrel  will  give  more  accurate  results. 
The  steam  should  be  kept  exhausting  slowly  through  a  coil  in  the  oil 
barrel.  The  oil  as  it  passes  over  it  will  be  warmed  and  the  separated 
water  can  be  drained  off  at  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  as  before.  When- 
ever an  oil  or  water  barrel  is  emptied,  the  notation  should  be  made  of 
it  on  the  gage  board. 

This  gaging  outfit  when  once  set  up  was  extremely  practicable  and 
not  at  all  hard  to  operate.     The  results  were  uniformly  good,  and  the 
outfit,  once  set  up  on  the  top  of  the  receiving  tank  and  connected  with 
the  wells,  required  no  attention  beyond  the  use  of  a  watch  and  the  turn 
ing  of  the  cocks. 


WATER  CONTROL,  PLAT  ROCK  POOL 


123 


Pig.  24.  Photograph  of  a  single-barrel  gage  setup  used  early  in 
the  work. 


Pig.  25.  Diagram    showing    in    detail    the    plan    of    the 
single-barrel  gage   setup. 


124  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

Method  of  Recording  Data 
All  records  of  observations  were  made  immediately  after  the  gaging 
was  completed.  They  showed  in  all  cases,  the  time  of  day,  the  date,  and 
the  weather  if  it  had  any  influence  on  the  work.  The  character  of  the 
oil  and  the  water  pumped  was  also  included,  and  if  any  oil  was  taken 
to  run  for  gravities,  it  was  given  a  sample  number.  The  form  used  was 
in  figure  28.  The  amount  of  both  water  and  oil  was  entered  in  gallons, 
and  the  total  amount  per  day  computed  in  terms  of  42-gallon  pipe-line 


Fig  26.  Photograph  of  the  three-barrel  siphon  gage  setup  in  operation. 

barrels.     The  calculations  were  in  principle  the  same   for  each  of  the 
different  methods  of  gaging  used : 

min.  in  24-  hrs.           gals,  oil  or  water 
.  x 


min.  length  of  gage  42 

After  the  gages  taken  in  the  field  had  been  completed  the  average 
production  was  entered  on  the  lease  sheet  (fig.  29).  These  showed  well 
number,  length  of  time  pumped  daily,  production  as  gaged  and  as  cut  to  fit 
the  lease  runs.  Estimates  made  by  the  pumpers  or  lease  foremen  were 
also  entered,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  sheet  for  pertinent  remarks  con- 
cerning the  well.  In  some  cases  this  showed  at  a  glance  that  corrective 
work  would  be  of  prohibitive  expense  or  else  entirely  useless,  as  is 
shown  by  wells  Nos.  3  and  9  on  the  sheet  (fig.  29),  one  with  nothing  but 
4%-inch  casing  in  the  hole  and  the  other  with  40  feet  of  working  barrel 
and  anchor  pipe  in  the  bottom  of  it.     The  latter  precludes  a  cementing 


W±TER  CONTROL 


PLAT  ROCK  POOL 


125 


126 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


GAUGE  SHEET,   CRAWFORD   COUNTY,  ILL. 

Producer  Selby-Cisler  Lease  W.  E.  Ewing  Sec.  31,  E  Twp.  Honey  Creek 


Time 
of 
Day 

Well 
No. 

Time  of  Runs 

Water 

Oil 

Sample 

Date 

Begin 

End 

Diff. 

Gal. 
Test 

Bbl. 
24  Hr. 

Test 

24-Hr 

For 
Sp.  G 

Remarks 

11-  4-19 
11-  5-19 

A.M. 
P.  M. 
A.  M. 

P.  M. 

A.  M. 

P.  M. 

31 
11 
16 

8 

8 

9:18:00 
1;  15:00 
9:  8:00 

10:18:00 
2:20:00 
10:38:00 

1:  0:00 
73:00 

1:30:00 
22:30 

151.0 
203.0 
176.0 

86.0 
95.4 
67. 

23.0 
6.5 
10. 

13.2 
3.05 

3.8 

1 

2 

Pumping-  poorly 
Recased 

1:11:00 

12:26:00 

1:15:00 
11:23 

2:00:00 

5:42:00 

2:00:00 

270. 

123. 

20. 

9.1 

Water  black 

12-31-19 

10:00:00 

12:00:66 

800. 

228. 

117. 

33.4 

5 

More  water  than 
pump  can  handle 

1:58:00 

3:58:00 

817. 

233. 

127.5 

36.5 

Pig.  28.  S-ample  record  sheet  as  used  in  gaging. 


LEASE  SHEET,  CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  ILL. 

Producer,  Central  Refining- Co.  Lease,  L.  N.  Tohill.  Sec.  31  E.  Twp.  Honey  Creek 


Well 

Time 
pumped. 

Production 

Ratio 

.      No. 

As  gaged 

Cut  to 
runs 

Esti- 
mat'd 

Water 
Oil 

Remarks. 

1 

4—2 

27.0 

7.9 

4 

3.4 

Cemented  3|  feet 

118. 

5.2 

4 

22.7 

Nothing  hut  4|  inch  pipe 

5-6 

\V2 

.7 

2.5 

3 

.3 

Drilled  only  to  top  of  sand.    String  in 
hole 

7-5 

125. 

7.6 

4 

16.5 

8 

8 

19. 

1. 

2 

19. 

9 

152. 

3.7 

7 

41. 

*40  ft.  working  barrel  and  anchor  in 
hole 

9 

126. 

10. 

12.6 

Set  packer;  improved  oil  150  per  cent 

10 

\y2 

6 

2.4 

2 

2.5 

Cemented  11  ft.  to  949 

13 

i 

2. 

*Drilled  only  to  upper  sand 

13 

Deepened;  hit  water;  pulled  and  plugged 

14 

2—2 

9. 

1. 

9. 

15 

103. 

.9 

1 

115. 

*Leak  in  casing 

15 

4—2 

10.7 

10.4 

1.3 

Set  packer  at  774;  increased  oil  100  per 
cent;  reduced  water  90  per  cent 

16 

8 

83. 

7.8 

2 

11. 

17 

209. 

12.2 

8 

17.1 

*Cemented  in  1916  3  feet;  pumping  ca- 
pacity on  2i  inch  tubing 

17 

242. 

2.2 

110. 

Pipe  gave  way 

17 

204. 

19. 

10.7 

Packer  in  bottom  joint 

17 

208. 

12.2 

17.1 

Would  help  to  cement. 

*  Denotes  recommendations.    (See  table  10) 
No  cut  needed  on  gages. 
Estimations  by  Lawrence  Mvers. 

Fig.  29.  Sample  lease  sheet  showing  gage   averages. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


127 


job,  but  not  a  casing  job.  Both  of  these  wells,  as  shown  by  the  ratio, 
need  remedial  work,  but  under  the  conditions  the  money  spent  would 
probably  never  bring  a  return. 

Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  keeping  the  gage  sheets  clean  in 
the  course  of  work  with  oily  fillings,  gage  cans,  etc.  To  overcome  this, 
the  gage  board  with  sliding  cover  shown  in  figure  30  was  made  and  gave 
satisfaction. 


if 

Fig.  30.  Photograph  of  the  gage  board  devised  for  protection  of  the 
records  while  in  use  on  the  lease. 


After  the  gage-averages  had  been  transferred  to  the  lease-total 
sheets  they  were  summed  up,  and  the  total  number  of  barrels  of  oil  a 
day  checked  against  the  pipe-line  runs  for  the  lease.  On  the  later  im- 
proved gages,  these  pipe-line  runs  checked  closely  with  the  sum  of  the 
individual  well  gages.  On  the  earlier  runs  the  totals  ran  high,  due  to  in- 
clusion of  more  or  less  water  with  the  oil,  as  gaged  in  the  barrels.  A 
percentage  correction  was  made  on  all  the  well  productions  as  gaged, 
cutting  them  down  so  that  the  totals  of  the  gaged  production  equaled  or 
exceeded  the  lease  runs  by  only  a  slight  margin. 

On  some  of  the  leases  it  was  impossible  to  try  to  check  the  gages 
against  the  runs  because  at  no  time  were  they  pumped  steadily  enough  to 
keep  the  water  off  the  sand.  On  others  the  wells  wese  pumped  irregu- 
larly, and  a  cut  of  gages  to  meet  the  runs  would  have  taken  them  be- 
neath their  true  possibilities. 


128  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

Ratio 

In  the  last  column  of  the  lease  sheet  was  placed  the  ratio  of  the 
water  to  the  oil,  that  is,  the  number  of  barrels  of  water  divided  by  the 
number  of  barrels  of  oil  pumped  by  that  particular  well.  Thus,  if  a 
well  pumps  100  barrels  of  water  and  1  barrel  of  oil,  the  ratio  would  be 
100,  while  if  it  pumped  three  barrels  of  oil,  the  ratio  would  be  33^. 
From  these  figures  was  determined  which  wells  were  giving  good  results 
and  which  were  not.  The  work  was  concentrated  upon  wells  with  ratios 
30  or  above.  Doubtless  there  were  wells  making  less  than  30  times  as 
much  water  as  oil  that  would  have  been  improved  by  corrective  work, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  those  making  over  30  were  the  worst  offenders, 
and  it  was  of  these  therefore  that  especial  studies  were  undertaken.  In 
most  cases  those  pumping  less  than  30  times  as  much  water  as  oil  can  be 
easily  handled  by  average  power,  but  with  a  ratio  over  30,  they  are  apt 
to  break  off  and  fall  behind. 

These  wells  with  ratios  over  30  were  carefully  gaged  again,  and  the 
graphic  logs  reexamined,  except  in  those  cases  where  the  wells  pound 
down  or  pump  off  and  it  is  known  that  they  are  producing  at  full  ca- 
pacity. Recommendations  were  then  made,  on  the  basis  of  the  gages 
and  logs,  in  cooperation  with  the  officials  of  the  respective  companies. 

RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR  REPAIR  WORK  ON  WELLS 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  most  of  the  wells  gaged  were  producing 
water  in  large  quantities,  it  is  desirable  to  give  primary  consideration 
to  those  wells  that  seemed  to  be  most  severely  handicapped  by  the  water. 
As  stated,  it  was  arbitrarily  determined  to  give  preferential  considera- 
tion to  those  wells  making  as  much  as,  or  more  than,  30  barrels  of  water 
to  each  barrel  of  oil  produced,  unless  owing  to  other  determining  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  the  physical  condition  of  the  well  and  previous  work 
done  on  it,  it  appeared  not  wise  to  adhere  to  this  ratio. 

The  map,  of  which  Plate  XII  is  a  copy,  was  drawn  and  blue  prints 
of  it  were  distributed  among  the  officers  of  the  various  companies  con- 
cerned. With  these  data  in  hand,  conferences  were  held  with  foremen 
and  superintendents  in  charge  of  the  properties,  as  to  the  most  practic- 
able methods  of  reducing  the  amount  of  water  produced  by  the  various 
wells.  Each  well  was,  of  course,  considered  individually,  taking  into 
account  such  circumstances  as  past  history.  In  short,  all  data  pertain- 
ing to  or  tending  to  indicate  the  condition  and  characteristics  of  each 
individual  well  were  obtained  and  discussed  at  these  conferences,  as  a 
result  of  which,  recommendations  for  repairing  wells  were  made  in  writ- 
ing to  the  various  companies.  A  summary  of  these  wells  and  of  the 
recommendations  is  shown  in  Table  10. 


• 


I 


128 

In  tl 
water  to 
number  i 
well  purr 
100,  whi 
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and  whic 
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much  wa 
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most  cas 
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to  break 

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graphic  '. 
down  or 
pacity. 
and  logs. 

RECC 
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water  in 
to  those 
As  state< 
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to  each 
cumstanc 
done  on 
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of  it  we: 
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result  of 
ing  to  tl 
recommc 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  129 

GAGING  AFTER  REPAIRS 

After  repair  work  had  been  completed  upon  the  several  wells,  a 
series  of  gage  readings  was  taken  to  show  the  extent  of  improvement 
made  and  the  tendency  of  the  well  to  revert  to  its  original  condition. 
As  long  as  the  investigating  party  was  in  the  field,  these  readings  were 
taken  at  regular  intervals.  Small  at  first,  the  time  interval  between 
measurements  was  gradually  lengthened  as  the  amount  of  change  grew 
less  and  less-  On  Tohill  No.  4,  for  example,  the  gage  on  the  second 
day  was  35  barrels  and  five  days  later  it  had  dropped  to  less  than  half 
of  that.  After  that  the  decline  was  much  more  gradual.  On  the  Ewing 
No.  8,  Selby  and  Cisler,  the  gage  started  at  65  and  dropped  rapidly 
to  35  and  then  gradually  to  30  barrels. 

While  the  Survey  party  was  gaging  the  wells,  the  "three-barrel  si- 
phon" setup  was  used.  Later  after  the  party  left  the  Flat  Rock  district, 
when  the  oil  companies  did  the  gaging  themselves,  as  a  check  upon  the 
gages  of  the  Survey,  they  ran  the  entire  production  of  the  wells  into  a 
250-barrel  stock  tank,  drained,  steamed,  and  gaged,  and  obtained  almost 
identical  figures.  This  method  of  gaging  was  lengthy,  more  cumbersome, 
and  of  course  could  not  be  used  daily  without  tying  up  the  whole  lease 
as  well  as  the  time  of  the  pumper.  The  results  should  be  just  as  accurate 
with  the  barrel  gage  as  the  stock  tank  gage,  for  on  the  one  hand  the  chance 
is  that  there  will  be  a  little  water  measured  as  oil,  while  on  the  other,  gag- 
ing a  five-barrel  run  in  a  250  tank  is  not  conducive  to  accuracy  beyond 
the  closest  barrel.  The  only  thing  in  favor  of  the  complete  daily  gage  is 
that  while  the  error  in  the  siphon  barrel  gage  is  collective  and  grows 
larger  and  larger,  the  gage  in  the  tank  is  compensating,  being  first  over 
and  then  under  the  true  production. 

A  summary  of  the  results  of  the  corrective  work  has  already  been 
given  as  Table  8. 

LOSS  OF  PRODUCTION  INCIDENT  TO  DELAY  IN  REPAIRS 

ON  WELLS 

Considerable  production  is  often  lost  by  delaying  the  repairs  on  a 
well  after  trouble  has  been  observed.  In  one  such  well  in  the  Illinois 
fields  it  is  estimated  that  $1,500  worth  of  oil  was  lost  in  two  and  a  half 
months  by  delaying  repair  work.  While  some  of  this  oil  might  be  re- 
gained when  the  well  was  finally  repaired,  much  of  it  would  not  be 
recovered,  and  it  is  obvious  that  if  such  a  method  of  procedure  be 
generally  followed  on  a  lease,  one  can  not  hope  for  a  fair  recovery  of 
oil  from  the  properties. 


130 


OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 


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WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL  131 

TESTING  TO  DETERMINE  SOURCE  OF  INCOMING  WATER 

Use  of  Venetian  Red  as  an  Indicator 
Well  No.  7  of  the  Selby  and  Cisler  Company,  on  the  W.  E.  Ewing 
lease,  had  a  packer  set  on  tubing  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  6 y^ -inch 
string.  This  string  had  been  corroded  sufficiently  to  let  in  the  upper 
water.  In  order  to  get  evidence  as  to  whether  the  water  in  the  well  was 
from  the  bottom  or  was  leaking  around  the  packer,  water  was  run  into 
the  casinghead,  and  Venetian  red  (chiefly  red  oxide  of  iron)  was  poured 
into  this  connection  along  with  the  water.  A  watch  was  kept  on  the 
production  to  determine  if  any  of  the  indicator  got  past  the  packer.  The 
finely  divided  Ventian  red  being  carried  in  suspension  and  not  in  solution 
would  not  be  suitable  for  use  as  an  indicator  when  the  fluid  had  to  pass 
through  a  sand  or  other  filtering  medium.  As  used  for  testing,  the  effec- 
tiveness of  a  packer  when  the  water  is  entering  the  well  in  large  volumes, 
or  tests  of  a  similar  nature,  Venetian  red  was  considered  satisfactory  as  a 
substitute  for  aniline  dye,  which  was  formerly  imported  and  only  to  be  ob- 
tained at  a  prohibitive  price  at  the  time  of  the  test.  In  the  case  of  this 
particular  well,  the  dye  was  not  pumped  out.  While  such  negative  evi- 
dence even  in  this  type  of  a  case  is  not  conclusive,  it  is  a  strong  indication 
that  the  packer  was  holding. 

Use  of  Packers  as  a  Testing  Device 

Though  packers  are  not  recommended  as  a  suitable  device  for  per- 
manently excluding  water  from  an  oil  or  gas  well,  they  are  often  useful 
as  a  temporary  expedient,  and  as  a  testing  device  for  determining  the 
source  of  the  water  entering  the  well.  By  setting  the  packer  in  the  bottom 
joint  of  the  casing  with  the  pump  above  and  with  a  perforated  nipple  be- 
tween the  packer  and  pump,  a  quicker  and  more  positive  test  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  casing  may  be  obtained.  Of  course,  for  such  a  method  the 
bottom  of  the  tubing  must  be  plugged.  When  the  casing  seat  is  to  be 
tested,  a  similar  arrangement  of  perforated  nipple,  pump,  and  plug  may 
be  used,  only  the  packer  must  be  set  below  the  bottom  of  the  casing. 
By  this  method  the  test  is  made  by  pumping  out  the  fluid  from  above  the 
packer  instead  of  from  the  sands. 

METHODS  OF  WATER  CONTROL 
Use  of  Mud  Fluid 

The  use  of  mud  fluid  for  controlling  high-pressure  gas  wells  and 
as  a  protection  against  the  ill  effects  of  unsystematic  casing  in  nearby 
wells  has  been  thoroughly  discussed  by  Lewis  and  McMurray.1     In  the 


1  Lewis,   J.    L.,   and  McMurray,   W.    F.,    The   use   of   mud-laden   fluid    in    oil    an< 
gas  wells:  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines  Bull.  134,   1916. 


132 


OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 


State  of  Illinois  it  is  proposed  to  use  mud  fluid  for  two  purposes — to 
arrest  the  corrosion  of  casing  by  water  cased  off  back  of  it,  and  to  avoid 


Pig.  31.  Diagram  to  show  the  saving  in  casing  accomplished  by  the   use  of 

mud  fluid. 


the  detrimental  effects  of  unsystematic  casing.  The  chemical  and  geo- 
logical aspects  of  corrosion  have  been  described  on  a  previous  page.  It 
remains  now  to  consider  the  mechanical  phases  of  the  problem. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


133 


THE    MUD 

To  be  most  effective  the  mud  fluid  must  consist  of  colloidal  material, 
free  from  grit,  sand,  or  lime  cuttings.  Such  granular  material  tends  to 
settle  around  the  outside  of  the  casing  and  to  bridge  or  pack  over  the  col- 
lars, not  only  interrupting  the  continuity  of  the  column  of  mud  fluid,  but 


Fig.  32.  Photograph  showing  the  connection  at  the  top 
of  the  well  between  the  discharge  of  the  mud 
pump  and  the  casing  in  the  circulation  method. 
The  outcoming  mud  fluid  has  been  down 
through  the  casing,  out  its  bottom,  and  is 
returning    to    the    surface,    outside    the    casing. 

possibly  freezing  the  casing.  If  air  is  excluded  from  such  a  mud  fluid,  it 
will  remain  fluid  indefinitely  and  with  comparatively  small  amount  of  set- 
tling. The  thicker  the  original  mud  fluid  is  used  the  less  will  be  the  sub- 
sequent settling.  As  general  rule  it  is  advisable  to  mix  the  mud  as  thick 
as  the  pumps  will  handle  it. 


134  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

METHODS    OF    MUDDING    WELLS 

Since  the  mudding  procedure  is  identical  whether  the  purpose  is 
to  obviate  the  necessity  of  three  shut-offs,  or  to  arrest  corrosion,  this 
discussion  of  methods  if  applicable  to  either  case.  There  are,  in  gen- 
eral, three  methods  for  mudding : 

1.  Jet  the  hole  full  of  mud;  insert  and  land  the  casing. 

2.  Run  casing  into  the  hole  and  hang  the  pipe  a  few  feet  off  the 
bottom.  Jet  the  pipe  full  of  mud  until  the  column  equalizes  inside  and 
outside  of  the  casing  at  the  surface ;  then  set  the  casing. 

3.  Run  casing  into  the  hole  and  pump  it  full  of  mud.  Make  a 
closed  connection  between  the  discharge  of  the  mud  pump  and  the  top 
of  the  casing,  and  continue  pumping  until  the  mud  fluid  descending  in- 
side the  casing  and  returning  to  the  surface  in  the  space  between  the 
casing  and  the  wall  of  the  hole  is  free  from  cavings,  sand,  or  lime  cut- 
tings, and  is  of  the  same  specilic  gravity  as  the  ingoing  fluid.  (See 
figure  32.)     Then  land  the  casing. 

Whichever  method  is  adopted,  the  mud  fluid  should  not  be  bailed 
out  of  the  pipe  for  at  least  24  hours  after  completion  of  the  job. 

A  ditch  or  flume  some  50  to  100  feet  long  should  be  arranged  and 
the  mud  fluid  run  through  it  to  afford  apportunity  for  all  coarse  material 
to  settle  out  (figs.  33-35.)  It  should  terminate  in  a  suction  pit  so  placed 
that  the  suction  line  of  the  pump  may  be  easily  transferred  from  the 
sump  to  the  suction  pit  when  mudding  operations  are  commenced.  In 
the  circulation  process  of  mudding,  when  the  mud  returns  to  the  sur- 
face outside  the  casing,  it  may  frequently  contain  cuttings  and  cavings 
washed  up  from  the  hole;  and  therefore  before  it  has  returned  to  the 
suction  pit  it  should  be  allowed  to  flow  through  the  trench  so  that  such 
coarse  material  may  settle  out.  This  ditch  must  be  shoveled  out  at 
intervals. 

Frequently  enough  clean  mud  fluid  for  the  job  will  be  collected  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  mud  sump.  The  necessary  specific  gravity  may  be 
obtained  by  providing  an  overflow  so  that  the  excess  water  which  rises 
to  the  surface  of  the  sump  will  run  off.  If  sufficient  clean  mud  is  not 
collected  in  this  way  at  the  lower  end  of  the  sump,  an  additional  supply 
may  be  obtained  by  drawing  the  clean  mud  fluid  from  the  lower  part  of 
the  sump  and  forcing  it  through  a  flexible  discharge  pipe  into  the 
coarser  settlings  at  the  upper  end  of  the  sump  with  which  it  is  mixed. 
Thus  the  high-pressure  stream  of  mud  may  be  used  as  a  hydraulic  moni- 
tor, and,  by  circulating  the  mud  fluid  through  the  pump  and  ditch,  all 
colloidal  matter  available  is  brought  into  suspension. 


WATER  CONTROL,  FLAT  ROCK  POOL 


135 


SUGGESTIONS    WITH    REGARD    TO    CASING 

As  none  but  good  casing  should  be  mudded,  it  will  stand  having 
the  joints  well  set  up.  The  threads  inside  the  coupling  and  on  the  ends 
of  the  casing  joints  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  and  threaded  with  lead 
and  oil  or  some  other  suitable  preparation  before  the  joints  are  started. 


4  long  V_ 
-Receiving  pit  \  3.5'  wide 
leasing  L2deeP 

^Barrel  swing  to  guide  discharge 

Pig.  33.  Diagram  showing  the  system  used  in  collecting  mud  for  mudding  Selby- 

Cisler  well,  Ewing  No.  6B. 


Whenever  suitable  tongs  are  available,  the  casing  should  be  set  up  with 
the  engine.  By  taking  these  precautions  the  strings  will  hang  together 
and  stand  more  severe  stress  in  case  jacks  have  to  be  used  to  free  it  dur- 
ing any  future  operation. 

When  mudding  casing  by  pump  and  circulation  methods  as  de- 
scribed, it  should  be  raised  and  lowered  at  intervals  without  interrupting 
the  action  of  the  pump.  This  vertical  movement  of  the  casing  should 
not  be  less  than  22  feet  so  that  each  coupling  will  pass  the  position  form- 
erly occupied  by  the  next  above.  This  process  tends  to  prevent  ac- 
cumulation of  debris  on  the  wall  of  the  hole  which  might  cause  the  pipe 
to  become  collar-bound  and  to  stick  or  ''freeze." 

While  very  little  trouble  has  been  experienced  in  other  states  in 
pulling  casing  which  has  been  set  with  mud  fluid,  nothing  but  ex- 
perience can  demonstrate  whether  or  not  such  mudding  operations  will 
be  as  fortunate  in  this  respect  in  Illinois.  Nevertheless  if  experience 
should  show  that  it  is  impossible  to  recover  mudded  strings  of  casing 
after  prolonged  standing,  the  operator  will  have  been  reimbursed  many 


136  OIL  INVESTIGATIONS 

times  for  this  loss  of  pipe,  providing  the  mudding  excludes  upper  water 
from  the  productive  sands  throughout  the  life  of  the  well.  It  is  on  this 
argument  that  the  use  of  mud  is  recommended  in  Illinois  at  the  present 
time. 

Another  precaution  to  be  observed,  especially  in  "spotty"  territory, 
is  to  set  the  water  string,  drill  into  the  pay  sand,  and  if  necessary  to 
shoot  the  well  before  mudding.  If  then  the  well  is  to  be  abandoned,  it 
is  obviously  unnecessary  to  mud  the  water  string,  but  the  mud  saved  for 
this  purpose  while  drilling  can  be  used  to  good  advantage  in  properly 
plugging  the  hole.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  well  shows  up  favorably 
when  drilled  into  the  sands,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  bridge  the  hole  above 
the  sands  and  lift  the  pipe,  mud,  and  reseat  the  casing. 

APPLICATION    TO    REPAIR    PROBLEMS 
CORROSION    OF    CASING    AND    METHODS    OF    PREVENTION 

There  are  areas  in  the  Illinois  pools  where  the  rapid  corrosion  of 
casing  necessitates  frequent  renewals.  In  some  instances  casing  and  well 
tubing  must  be  replaced  after  two  years'  service.  These  replacement  jobs 
are  not  only  costly  in  themselves,  but  the  financial  loss  is  considerably 
augmented  by  the  incidental  loss  of  production  both  while  the  well  is  off 
and  by  the  diminished  output  of  the  well  when'  returned  to  the  producing 
status,  an  occurrence  which  frequently  accompanies  such  water  jobs. 
While  this  reduction  in  productivity  is  not  universal,  it  is  a  very  general 
characteristic  of  such  troubles  in  other  fields  as  well  as  those  of  Illinois. 
It  has  been  observed  that  when  water  breaks  into  an  oil  or  gas  well,  per- 
manent damage  is  frequently  occasioned,  and  that  the  well  will  frequently 
not  come  back  to  its  former  productivity  even  after  the  water  has  been 
shut  off. 

To  prevent  the  corrosion  of  casing,  two  methods  of  procedure  are 
open  ;  first,  to  use  casing  of  such  composition  that  it  will  not  be  corroded, 
and,  second,  to  keep  the  corrosive  agent  from  contact  with  the  casing. 

Numerous  efforts  have  been  made  by  pipe  manufacturers  to  supply 
non-corrosive  casing,  which  have  been  but  partly  successful.  As  a  rule 
such  special  casing  is  more  costly  than  ordinary  pipe. 

To  keep  the  corrosive  agent  from  contact  with  the  pipe  is  the  method 
of  greatest  promise  at  present.  One  way  to  achieve  this  is  by  filling 
the  space  between  the  casing  and  the  wall  of  the  hole  with  mud  fluid  and 
to  set  the  casing  so  as  to  retain  the  mud  in  this  annular  space  throughout 
the  life  of  the  well.  This  method,  of  course,  did  not  originate  with  the 
present  investigation,  but  merely  constitutes  the  application  of  a  well- 
known  principle  to  a  particular  set  of  conditions.  The  method  has  been 
used   successfully  in   many  fields   and  depends   for   its   success   on   two 


WATER  CONTROL,  PLAT  ROCK  POOL 


137 


properties  of  mud  fluid — first,  the  clogging  action  of  the  fluid  as  it 
enters  the  interstices  of  a  sand,  which  tends  to  convert  the  porous  sand 
locally  into  an  impervious  sandy  clay,  and  second,  the  static  pressure 
exerted  by  the  column  of  mud  fluid,  which  will  continually  oppose  the 
pressure  tending  to  force  water  through  the  sand  into  the  well  and  into 
contact  with  the  casing.  Suppose,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  that  a 
water  sand  penetrated  at  a  depth  of  1,000  feet  is  cased  and  mudded 
off  by  such  a  process  as  that  subsequently  to  be  described,  and  suppose 
that  the  specific  gravity  of  the  mud  is  1.25,  that  is  to  say,  25  per  cent 
heavier  than  pure  water.  Suppose  also  that  the  water  has  sufficient 
head  to  rise  600  feet  in  the  hole,  or  within  100  feet  of  the  surface.  This 
head  of  water  is  equivalent  to  260  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch. 
In  opposition  to  this  pressure  of  water  tending  to  enter  the  hole  is  the 


Pig.  34.  Photograph  of  the  mud  sump  taken  from  the  top  of  the  derrick 
on  Selby-Cisler  well,  Ewing  No.  6B. 

pressure  exerted  by  1,000  feet  of  mud  fluid,  which  exerts  a  counter- 
pressure  of  511  pounds  per  square  inch.  Thus  the  pressure  exerted  by 
the  mud  tending  to  hold  the  water  back  is  281  pounds  greater  per  square 
inch  than  the  pressure  of  the  water  in  the  sand. 

The  result  is  that  some  mud  enters  the  sand,  as  stated,  until  sufficient 
resistance  has  been  built  up  to  balance  the  extra  pressure  of  the  column 
of  mud  and  a  state  of  equilibrium  is  obtained.  By  such  a  mud  system, 
various  fluids  native  to  strata  cased  off  are  retained  in  their  normal  re- 


138  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

spective  stratigraphic  positions  and  are  thus  prevented  from  migrating 
up  and  down  the  hole  to  contaminate  fluids  of  other  strata.  Also,  if  any 
of  these  fluids  are  directly  or  indirectly  responsible  for  the  corrosion  of 
the  casing,  such  corrosion  is  very  likely  to  cease. 

One  of  the  most  striking  facts  in  connection  with  the  corrosion  of 
casing  in  the  Illinois  fields  is  that  the  bottom  joints  of  a  water  string 
rarely  show  corrosion  when  the  casing  is  pulled.  So  general  is  this  cir- 
cumstance that  of  the  many  oil  men  interviewed  on  the  subject,  not  one 
had  failed  to  observe  it,  and  all  attributed  the  fact  to  the  protection  af- 
forded by  shale  cavings  from  the  hole  which  settled  about  this  portion 
of  the  pipe.  The  use  of  mud  fluid  may  therefore  be  considered  as  ex- 
tending similar  protection  throughout  the  full  length  of  the  string. 

INTERMEDIATE   WATER    AND   ITS    CONTROL 

In  many  oil  fields  there  are  areas  where  intermediate  water  is  en- 
countered. By  this  term  is  meant  a  water-bearing  stratum  with  pro- 
ductive oil  or  gas  strata  above  and  below  it,  and  with  "breaks"  of  im- 
pervious strata  separating  the  several  sands.  When  it  becomes  desir- 
able to  produce  from  the  lower  productive  stratum  a  competent  opera- 
tor at  once  adopts  means  to  protect  the  upper  productive  stratum  from 
becoming  flooded  by  the  intermediate  water,  as  would  be  the  case  if 
both  the  intermediate  water  and  upper  oil  were  cased  off  behind  the  same 
string  of  pipe. 

One  method  of  doing  this  is  the  three  shut-off  system  consisting 
of  three  strings  of  casing;  one  set  above  the  upper  productive  strata 
and  another  below  it,  thus  protecting  it  from  upper  and  intermediate 
waters,  while  the  third  string  is  set  above  the  second  producing  sand. 

This  method  is  open  to  the  following  objections:  It  is  costly,  due 
to  the  extra  strings  of  casing  used,  as  well  as  the  labor  involved.  It 
offers  only  temporary  protection  in  contact  with  corrosive  agents.  If  the 
first  or  second  shut-offs  fail  before  the  third,  the  water  will  then  spread 
in  the  upper  productive  sand  and  perhaps  spoil  adjacent  wells  produc- 
ing from  it.  Since  under  conditions  of  three  shut-offs  production  from 
the  lower  sand  in  the  offending  well  may  not  be  diminished  by  the 
spread  of  water  in  the  upper  sand,  the  true  source  of  the  water  may  not 
be  determined.  Moreover,  if  the  well  at  fault  is  making  a  good  produc- 
tion from  the  lower  pay  an  operator  would  be  reluctant  to  pull  the  casing 
from  such  a  well  on  a  chance  that  the  first  or  second  shut-offs  were  at 
fault.  Being  only  human,  he  might  prefer  to  claim  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt  rather  than  to  risk  spoiling  a  good  well  because  of  a  suspicion 
that  it  might  be  causing  damage  to  the  upper  sand.  It  is  therefore  of 
prime  importance  that  first  and  second  shut-offs,  and  for  that  matter, 


WATER  CONTROL,  PLAT  ROCK  POOL 


139 


every  shut-off  in  drilling  wells,  should  be  made  as  nearly  permanent 
as  possible,  having  due  regard  for  all  factors  and  complications  likely  to 
arise  in  the  future,  as  far  as  past  experience  may  indicate  them. 

It  has  been  recommended  to  some  of  the  companies  operating  where 
intermediate  water  is  encountered,  that  one  string  of  casing  be  thor- 
oughly mudded  and  landed  above  the  lower  pay ;  and  the  other  strings 
that  might  be  necessary  while  drilling  should  be  pulled,  keeping  fluid 
level  of  the  mud  outside  the  water  string  as  near  the  surface  as  pos- 
sible at  all  times.  Of  course,  in  some  cases,  it  will  be  advisable,  for  me- 
chanical reasons,  to  leave  some  conductor  pipe  in  the  hole  in  addition 
to  the  one  string  that  is  mudded.  Such  conditions  are  shown  in  figure 
31,  an  Indian  Refining  Company  well  in  the  Petrolia  district.  To  the 
left  the  well  is  shown  as  it  would  normally  be  cased,  and  to  the  right  as 


•' 

_ 

;  '»..;  !■'[..  >■■■'•  ■■■•!' '' 

JS^S'yi 

■ 

* 

^':  '*W'^-  -ife^'*"^  •? 

: 

^  M 

:.  ■■■       ': 

Pig.  35.  Photograph  of  the  mud  sump  looking  toward  the  derrick.  Trench 
near  the  center  in  which  coarse  material  settles  out;  suction  and 
mixing  pipes  at  the  right,  the  former  below  the  latter. 

it  would  be  if  mud  fluid  were  used.  The  saving  here  is  in  the  cost  of 
the  strings  of  pipe.  Due  to  the  pressure  tending  to  collapse  a  string  of 
pipe,  which  is  exerted  by  a  column  of  heavy  mud  fluid,  old  or  very  thin 
casing  should  not  be  used  in  mudding  operations. 


Use  of  Cement 
Use  of  cement  in  oils  wells  is  confined  to  repair  work  in  so  far  as 
water  control  is  concerned. 


140  OIL   INVESTIGATIONS 

The  method  of  cementing  off  lower  water  as  used  extensively  in 
the  Illinois  field,  was  first  introduced  by  W.  W.  McDonald  of  the  Ohio 
Oil  Company.  It  is  adapted  to  completed  wells  which  have  been  drilled 
too  deep,  or  in  which  the  shot  has  introduced  salt  water,  as  well  as  to 
those  which  have  been  partially  flooded  as  a  result  of  the  inevitable  en- 
croachment of  the  water  upon  the  field,  due  to  extraction  of  the  oil. 

MCDONALD    METHOD  OF   CEMENTING    BOTTOM    WATER 

A  string  of  two-inch  tubing,  plugged  tightly  with  a  wooden  plug, 
is  lowered  to  within  a  foot  or  so  of  the  prospective  top  of  the  cement. 
Fresh  water  is  run  into  the  tubing  until  it  is  filled,  and  the  bottom  plug 
is  knocked  out  with  sucker  rods  or  by  striking  the  upper  end  of  the 
water  column.  Fresh  water  is  then  allowed  to  run  into  the  well  for  sev- 
eral hours  to  force  any  salt  water  back  into  the  sands.  Cement  is  in- 
troduced by  the  handful  into  the  stream  of  water,  preferably  heated  to 
130°,  until  the  amount  desired  has  been  put  in.  The  water  flow  is  con- 
tinued but  in  a  smaller  stream,  merely  enough  to  keep  the  circulation 
from  the  well  outward,  so  as  to  hold  the  cement  grains  in  the  inter- 
stices of  the  sand,  rather  than  from  the  salt  reservoir  toward  the  well, 
which  would  force  the  cement  back  into  the  well.  The  water  flow 
should  be  kept  up  for  six  or  eight  hours.  With  ordinary  cement  the 
well  should  not  be  pumped  sooner  than  the  eighth  day. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  cements,  and  the  cement  used  should 
be  tested  in  a  great  excess  of  water  before  putting  it  in  the  well,  to  de- 
termine whether  or  not  it  can  be  depended  on  to  set  under  such  condi- 
tions. 


INDEX 


A 

PAGE 

Acknowledgments   22,52,  104 

Adams     County,     geology     and 

structure    of 69-90 

physiography    of 71-72 

stratigraphy   of . 86-96 

Agaricocrinns     tuberosus,     oc- 
currence   of    in    Keokuk 

limestone   94 

Alluvial    deposits    in    Brown 

County    25 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  86 
Analyses  of  oil-well  waters.  ..  .114-117 

of   Pike    County   gas 83 

Archimedes,    occurrence    of    in 

Warsaw    formation 94 

Artesian  wells 86 

Ava,  drilling  near 16-17 

B 

Benville,    Keokuk    formation 

near 37 

Bond    County,    drilling    in 17 

Brown  County,  physiography  of  24 
recommendations  for  drilling 

in   49-50 

stratigraphy    of 25-40 

structure  of    41-46 

Burlington  limestone  in  Brown 

County    38 

in    Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles 53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  94 

Bushnell,  dome  near 65 

log  of  well  at 56-57 


PAGE 

Clinton  County,  drilling  in....  15 

Coal   City,    seepage   of  oil  and 

gas   near    17 

Coghill,  John  W.  Jr.,  assistance 

of    52 

Colchester  coal,  see  No.  2  coal. 

Coles  County,  drilling  in 12-13 

Colmar-Plymouth  fields,  drill- 
ing in    16 

Corrosion  of  casing,  prevention 

of   137-138 

Corrosive  waters  in  Plat  Rock 

Pool   111-113 

Crawford  County,  drilling  in..  14 

Cumberland  County,  drilling  in     12,  18 

D 

Devonian    rocks     in     Brown 

County    38-39 

in    Goodhope   and    La   Harpe 

quadrangles    53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  95 

Douglas  County,  drilling  in 18 

Drilling,  record  of 18-20 

E 

Echinoconchus  alternates,  oc- 
currence    of     in     Keokuk 

limestone   94 

Edgar  County,  drilling  in 12 

Edwards   County,    drilling   in..  17 

Endothyra    baileyi,    occurrence 

of  in  Salem  limestone....  38 

Ewing  well  No.  6,  log  of 108-109 


C 

Calhoun    County,    Kimmswick- 

Plattin   limestone    in 96 

Campbell    Hill   anticline,    drill- 
ing on    16-17 

Carbondale  formation  in  Brown 

County    28-29 

in  Plat  Rock  Pool 110 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  89-91 

Casing,    corrosion   of 105 

saving  of  by  use  of  mud  fluid  132 
Central  Refining  Company,  as- 
sistance of   104 

Chestline,  section  near 91 

Clark  County,  drilling  in 12-13 

141 


■    F 

Pair  Weather,  section  near.  ...  91 

Fayette  County,  drilling  in.  .  .  .  17 

"First  lime"    38 

Flat  Rock  Pool,  geology  of 106-113 

peg  model  of 118-119, 121 

water  trouble  in 106 

Flat  Rock  sand   112-113 

Fossils,   occurrence  of   in  Keo- 
kuk limestone    37, 94 

in  St.  Louis  limestone 31 

in    Salem    limestone 33,93 

in  Warsaw  formation 94 

Friendsville  Township,  drilling 

in   14 


142 


INDEX— Continued 


PAGE 

G 

Gaging  of  wells  in  Flat  Rock 

Pool     121-129 

Galena-Platteville  limestone,  in 
Goodhope    and    La    Harpe 

quadrangles     53-59 

possibility   of   oil   production 

from    61 

Gallatin    County,    drilling    in..  16 

Gas  in  glacial  drift 66-67 

in    Pike    County 75-84 

"Gas    sand",    600-foot,    in    Flat 

Rock    Pool 110,111 

Glacial  drift,  gas  in 66-67 

in  Brown  County 26-27 

in  Flat  Rock  Pool 107 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  87 

Gochenour   well,   log   of 58-59 

Goodhope  Quadrangle,  stra- 
tigraphy of    53-59 

structure    and    oil    possibili- 
ties of 51-67 

H 

Hancock  County,   drilling   in..  16 

Hazelwood,    section   near 93 

Hoing  sand    73-74 

correlation  of   39,  40 

possibility   of   oil   production 

from     60-61 

in   Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles     53-59 

I 

Illinoian    till,     distribution     of 

26-27,  87,  107 

Illinois,  rank  of  in  oil  produc- 
tion            9-10 

structure  of  63 

Illinois  oil,  prices  of 11 

Illinois  Pipe  Line  Company,  as- 
sistance   of 104 

Indian   Refining    Company,    as- 
sistance  of 104 


Jackson  County,  drilling  in. 
J.  and  L.  Parke  well,  log  of. 
Jasper   County,   drilling  in... 
Johnson  County,  drilling  in. 
Johnson  well,  log  of 


16-17 
47 
12 
16 
47 


K 


Keokuk    formation     in     Brown 

County     37-38 

in    Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles    53 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties.  94 


PAGE 

Key  horizons  for  Brown  County  23-24 
for  Goodhope  and  La  Harpe 

quadrangles    64 

for  Pike  and  Adams  counties  72-73 
Kimmswick-Plattin  limestone  in 

Brown    County 39-40 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  96 
Kinderhook    shale   in   Brown 

County     38 

in   Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles     53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  95 

L 

La  Grange,  section  near 30 

La  Harpe  Quadrangle,   stratig- 
raphy of    53-59 

structure    and    oil    possibili- 
ties  of    ' 51-57 

Lawrence  County,  drilling  in..  14 
Lioclema,  occurrence  of  in  War- 
saw formation    94 

Lithostrotion,  occurrence  of  in 

St.   Louis   limestone 31 

Loess  deposits  in  Brown  County  25-26 

in  Flat  Rock  Pool 107 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  86-87 

M 

McDonald  method  of  cement- 
ing oil  wells 140 

McDonough  County,  drilling  in  16 

McLean  County,  drilling  in.  .  .  .  17 
McLeansboro  formation  in  Flat 

Rock  Pool   110 

Macoupin  County,  drilling  in..  15 

Madden,  Frank  J.,  assistance  of  104 

Madison  County,  drilling  in...  17,18 
Maquoketa    shale    in    Brown 

County    39 

in    Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles     53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  95 
possibility   of   oil   production 

from     41,  61 

Marion  County,  drilling  in....  15-16 

May  wells,  logs  of 48 

Mink,  Jerry,   assistance  of....  71 

"Mississippi  lime"    38 

Mississippian  rocks  in  Good- 
hope  and  La  Harpe  quad- 
rangles       53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  92-95 

Morgan  County,  drilling  in.  . . .  17 

Morse,  W.  C,  work  of 22 

Mount  Sterling,  Pottsville  for- 
mation  near    30,  31 

St.  Peter  sandstone  in  well  at  40 

Mudding,  methods  of 134-135 

Mud  fluid,  use  of  in  water  con- 
trol     132-138 


INDEX — Continued 


143 


PAGE 

N 

Natural  gas,  see  Gas. 

Nebel,  M.  L.,  work  of 71,  104 

Niagaran   limestone,    gas    from  83-84 

in   Brown    County 39 

in  Goodhope  and    La    Harpe 

quadrangles     53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  95 
possibility   of   oil   production 

from    40,  41,  60 

Northern  Illinois,  drilling  in..  17 
No.    2   coal   as   key   horizon   in 

Brown  County    23-24 

in   Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles     63 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  72-73 

O 

Oakland,   drilling  near 13 

Oil,  character  of  in  Flat  Rock 

Pool     114 

Oil-producing  horizons  ...40-41,  59-61 
Ordovician    rocks    in    Brown 

County    39-40 

in    Goodhope   and   La  Harpe 

quadrangles     53, 61 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties.  95-96 

P 

Packers,  use  of  as  indicator  of 

source  of  water 131 

Parke  well,  log  of 47 

Parrish  well,  log  of 57-58 

Pennsylvanian  rocks  in  Brown 

County    28-31 

in  Plat  Rock  Pool 107-113 

in    Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles    52 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  89-92 

Perry  County,  drilling  in 17 

Petroleum,    prices    of    in    1916, 

1917,    and   1918    10-11 

number   of  wells   drilled   for 

in   1917   and   1918 12,18-20 

production  of,  1905  to  1918.  .  10 

1917   and    1918 9-20 

production    of    decreasing    in 

Illinois    99 

Pike  County,  drilling  in 16,  76-80 

geology  and  structure  of....  69-96 

natural  gas  in 75-84 

physiography   of 71-72 

stratigraphy   of    86-96 

Pittsfield-Hadley  anticline    75-84 

Plymouth  field,  drilling  in 16 

Plymouth  oil,  prices  of 11 

Pottsville  formation  in  Brown 

County    30-31 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  91 

in  Plat  Rock  Pool 110 

possibility   of   oil   production 

from    59 


Productidae,    occurrence    of    in 

Carbondale   formation 90 

Productus  burlingtonensis,  oc- 
currence of  in  Burlington 
limestone    94 

Productus   magnus,    occurrence 

of  in  Keokuk  limestone...  94 

R 

Randolph  County,  drilling  in..  17 

Recommendations   for   oil   tests 

49-50,  65,  84-86 

for  repair  work 128 

Repair  work,  use  of  cement  in.  139-140 

use  of  mud  fluid  in 137-139 

losses  resulting  from  delay  of         129 
recommendations  for  in  Plat 

Rock  Pool   128 

Rich,  J.  L.,  work  of 22,  23 

Ripley   dome    46 

Robinson    sand     in     the     Flat 

Rock  Pool   "         110 

Roseville.  dome  near 65 


St.   Louis   limestone   in  Brown 

County    31-32 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties     92-93 
St.    Peter   sandstone   in   Brown 

County    40 

Salem  limestone,  fossils  in....  33 

occurrence     of     in     Brown 

County    24,  32-35 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  93 

Saline  County,  drilling  in 16 

"Salt  sand,   600-foot'',  see  ''Up- 

per   salt  sand". 
Savage,  T.  E.,  work  of.. 22,  33,  52,  83 
Schuyler  County,   drilling  in..  16 

"Second  lime"    39, 73 

Section  of  hard  rocks  in  Brown 

County    27-28 

in    Goodhope    and    La    Harpe 

quadrangles     52-53 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties     87-89 
of    Pennsylvanian    rocks     in 

Flat  Rock  Pool 108 

Selby  and  Cisler  Refining  Com- 
pany,  assistance  of 104 

Shinn,  Claude,  assistance  of...  71 

Single-barrel    gage,    description 

of   121 

South   central  Illinois,   drilling 

in    15-16 

Southeastern    Illinois,    drilling 

in   12-14 

Southern  Illinois,  drilling  in..      16-17 
Spanish    Needle    Creek    Dome, 

drilling  on    15 


144 


INDEX— Concluded 


PAGK 

Spirifera,  occurrence  of  in  Keo- 
kuk limestone   94 

Sporangites    huronense,    occur- 
rence of  in  Devonian  shale  38 
Staunton  gas  pool,  decline  of.           15 
Stratigraphy   of   Pike   and   Ad- 
ams counties    86-96 

Stronghurst,  dome  near 64 

log  of  well  at 55 

Structure  of  Brown  County 41-46 

of  Flat  Rock  sand 113 

of  "gas   sand"   in  Plat  Rock 

Pool     HI 

of   Goodhope    and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles     63-66 

of  Pike  and  Adams  counties. 

..74,     75,  81-86 

Structure,    relation     of    to     oil 

accumulation    43-44,  62,  73 

Sweetland  Creek  shale  in  Good- 
hope  and  La  Harpe  quad- 
rangles      53-59 

T 

Tests  for  oil,  Brown  County . .     46-48 
Goodhope     and     La     Harpe 
quadrangles    66 

Three-barrel  siphon  gage,  de- 
scription of   121-124 

"Trenton  limestone",  see  Ga- 
lena-Platteville  limestone 
and  Kimmswick-P  I  at  t  in 
limestone. 


PAGK 

u 

Upper  Devonian  shale  in  Brown 

County 38 

in   Goodhope   and   La   Harpe 

quadrangles    53-59 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties.  95 

"Upper  salt  sand''  in  Flat  Rock 

Pool    111-112 


Venetian   red,    use    of   as   indi- 
cator of  source  of  water.. 


131 


W 

Wabash  County,  drilling  in.  . .  .  14 

Warsaw    formation    in    Brown 

County    36-37 

in  Pike  and  Adams  counties  93-^4 
Washington  County,  drilling  in  17, 18 
Water,  amounts  pumped  in  Flat 

Rock  Pool   128-129, 130 

ill  effects  of  on  oil  wells 104-106 

Water  control  work,  results  of.  101-104 
Water  Survey,  cooperation  with  104 
Well  data  for  Pike  County  gas 

field   83-84,  76-80 

Weller,  Stuart,  work  of 22,  38,  71 

Wells,  flowing   86 

Western  Illinois,  drilling  in...  16 


